Peace Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) This is always the issue. Taxing me is done at gunpoint. So Scott Adams suggests that at least the government offer the rich a reach round as it effs them. Not the worst idea I ever heard. Some of his suggestions are funny and others aren't bad. My favorite is that the poor have to write the rich thank you notes...obviously more in the humor category but a nice lesson nevertheless. Adams's idea is to brainstorm ways to trade more taxes for privileges. Bad ideas he says often lead to good. BTW the snarky and obvious cut spending response is a given. We have all seen how no one is willing to ever do that. So we might as well get used to higher taxes. They are coming at some point. And if the left and right ever really cut spending, it will just be a bonus. For those of you with healthy egos—and that would be every reader of The Wall Street Journal—you can make this fantasy extra delicious by imagining that you are the person who comes up with the idea that saves the world. I'll show you how to imagine that. I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is. I spent some time working in the television industry, and I learned a technique that writers use. It's called "the bad version." When you feel that a plot solution exists, but you can't yet imagine it, you describe instead a bad version that has no purpose other than stimulating the other writers to imagine a better version. For example, if your character is stuck on an island, the bad version of his escape might involve monkeys crafting a helicopter out of palm fronds and coconuts. That story idea is obviously bad, but it might stimulate you to think in terms of other engineering solutions, or other monkey-related solutions. The first step in thinking of an idea that will work is to stop fixating on ideas that won't. The bad version of an idea moves your mind to a new vantage point. ... Suppose we change the tax code so that in return for higher taxes on the rich, we figure out a way to give the rich some form of extra time. The bad version is that anyone who pays taxes at a rate above some set amount gets to use the car pool lane without a passenger. Or perhaps the rich are allowed to park in handicapped-only spaces. Ridiculous, you cry! Remember, this is the bad version. And if the rich are only a tiny percentage of the population, they would have almost no impact on the traffic in car pool lanes or the availability of parking spaces for the handicapped. You wouldn't even notice the difference. You could imagine a host of ways the government could trade time for money. Suppose all government agencies had a mandate to handle the affairs of the rich before everyone else. You wouldn't even notice that your wait at the Department of Motor Vehicles was 2% longer. As a bonus, what happens to the economy when the people who are most skilled at making money suddenly have extra time? My bet is that they stimulate the economy by spending more or by earning more. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703293204576106164123424314.html?mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1articleTabs%3Darticle Edited January 30, 2011 by Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 As preposterous as this likely appears to many because it runs so contrary to current doctrine - plus it's bat-**** looney, it points out the absurdity of a progressive tax system. When people purchase items - the price isn't set by their ability to pay. Prices aren't put on a sliding scale pinned to the relative wealth of the purchaser. Prices do fluctuate, but largely due to supply and demand - not the relative wealth of the purchaser. A progressive tax is a free market abomination. I favor a flat tax on all income and earnings. Everyone should have some skin in the game. You earn less - you pay less. You earn more - you contribute more - but at the same rate that everyone else pays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Based on this winter, I would take more care plowing my richer street. And also better parking on busy streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Based on this winter, I would take more care plowing my richer street. And also better parking on busy streets. How about seating on planes? One's richness determines where you sit and when you board - regardless if you bought a first class ticket or not... you "earned" it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 How about seating on planes? One's richness determines where you sit and when you board - regardless if you bought a first class ticket or not... you "earned" it. Airplanes aren't a public utility but I like where this is headed. I want portions of my local park temporarily cordoned off by income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Airplanes aren't a public utility but I like where this is headed. I want portions of my local park temporarily cordoned off by income. I want permission to go through the "10 items or less" checkout with 15 items... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Airplanes aren't a public utility but I like where this is headed. I want portions of my local park temporarily cordoned off by income. I want permission to go through the "10 items or less" checkout with 15 items... Splendid! I want the public utility companies to come to the homes of the rich first to restore their service when there's an outage due to bad weather and I want Doctors to make appointments based on the patient's income level. I don't want to wait for the Postman to arrive when it suits him either. Money talks baby. Get me my mail with the morning paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster4324 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Splendid! I want the public utility companies to come to the homes of the rich first to restore their service when there's an outage due to bad weather and I want Doctors to make appointments based on the patient's income level. I don't want to wait for the Postman to arrive when it suits him either. Money talks baby. Get me my mail with the morning paper. This bit is already true... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 This bit is already true... That's because doctors and utilities aren't publicly run. They understand that higher-paying customers deserve better service. I would like major highways cleared between 5:30-6:30 for anyone not employed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 They already get more... Is that really the issue, privilege? Really privilege? Maybe their own lane on the expressway. Wait a sec... This has always been the underlying issue for the most shallowest of people. What about the privilege to help society? Even if in the most simplistic terms it is just blindly giving something away. That is not good enough because especially in today's society "the name" has to go on everything. Maybe the rich can take a cue from the people who put gold or something really expensive in the Salvation Army kettle and get no fame for doing it. What we need is LESS "privilege" and more humility. "Hand it over rich dude and do it with more humility!" To me... Privilege also has entitlement woven in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster4324 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 That's because doctors and utilities aren't publicly run. They understand that higher-paying customers deserve better service. I would like major highways cleared between 5:30-6:30 for anyone not employed. Put down the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsidethebox Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I want permission to go through the "10 items or less" checkout with 15 items... I already do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I know the whole one man/woman one vote thing is a sacred cow, but how about a progressive voting system? If you pay a 10% tax rate you get 10 votes . . . If you pay a 35% tax rate you get 35 votes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I know the whole one man/woman one vote thing is a sacred cow, but how about a progressive voting system? If you pay a 10% tax rate you get 10 votes . . . If you pay a 35% tax rate you get 35 votes Kind of like shareholder voting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I know the whole one man/woman one vote thing is a sacred cow, but how about a progressive voting system? If you pay a 10% tax rate you get 10 votes . . . If you pay a 35% tax rate you get 35 votes Now you're talking although I'd like an IQ multiplier on that. No way Paris Hilton deserves more votes than me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Now you're talking although I'd like an IQ multiplier on that. No way Paris Hilton deserves more votes than me! So if you have a "leaked" internet porn video you lose your right to vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) I know the whole one man/woman one vote thing is a sacred cow, but how about a progressive voting system? If you pay a 10% tax rate you get 10 votes . . . If you pay a 35% tax rate you get 35 votes Voted down by the Continental Congress. Edited January 31, 2011 by GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Voted down by the Continental Congress. They're all dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's House Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 They already get more... Is that really the issue, privilege? Really privilege? Maybe their own lane on the expressway. Wait a sec... This has always been the underlying issue for the most shallowest of people. What about the privilege to help society? Even if in the most simplistic terms it is just blindly giving something away. That is not good enough because especially in today's society "the name" has to go on everything. Maybe the rich can take a cue from the people who put gold or something really expensive in the Salvation Army kettle and get no fame for doing it. What we need is LESS "privilege" and more humility. "Hand it over rich dude and do it with more humility!" To me... Privilege also has entitlement woven in there. You should visit your local Rotary Club. It might change your perceptions. I know the whole one man/woman one vote thing is a sacred cow, but how about a progressive voting system? If you pay a 10% tax rate you get 10 votes . . . If you pay a 35% tax rate you get 35 votes Sounds reasonable. My concern is that it would lead to landslide victories for libs, because contrary to popular belief, the super rich tend to vote Democrat. Sounds counterintuitive, but they have to money to use government regulation to eliminate their competition and often have enough pull to land the big govt contracts that feel good Democrat spending sprees produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 They're all dead. Only because of the saturation of our political discourse — and especially our airwaves — with eliminationist rhetoric that lies behind the rising tide of violence. [/Krugman] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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