$250,000 a year isn't rich!

[Torie]

No, I didn't say that. I am a mere conduit. This guy said it (the gentleman's name appears in the fourth paragraph of the article). And he apparently is speaking for his caucus! Obama, pick up the red telephone please.

You have just got to love it all - yes you do. We want it all, we want it now, and Warren Buffet and the Chinese (we are going to really show them who's boss!), and going to balance the books all by themselves!  We can just keep collecting all the goodies in the meantime. What me worry?  

Probably the "fairest" thing is to just give a special lower rate for the Big Apple don't you think?  

[krazen1211]

The Democrats do not want to get utterly destroyed in the $100 - $300k bracket again.

Unfortunately that's where the money is. There aren't that many 'millionaires' to slap with a 'millionaires' tax.

[opebo]

...We want it all

What is this?  A scrap of bread and a roof over the head?  Seriously Torie, try to exercise better taste in future.

[Sbane]

Yes, Torie, Californians and New Yorkers should have higher cutoffs on the income bracket than say Tennessee. Let the 250kers in Brentwood, TN get soaked instead of Brentwood, California (the LA one).

[CultureKing]

Our debate over who is 'rich' in the US must be viewed as deranged by the rest of the world..

[Napoleon]

Yes, Torie, Californians and New Yorkers should have higher cutoffs on the income bracket than say Tennessee. Let the 250kers in Brentwood, TN get soaked instead of Brentwood, California (the LA one).

Probably would sh**t can the housing market in the Sunbelt for good though.

[Sbane]

Yes, Torie, Californians and New Yorkers should have higher cutoffs on the income bracket than say Tennessee. Let the 250kers in Brentwood, TN get soaked instead of Brentwood, California (the LA one).

Probably would sh**t can the housing market in the Sunbelt for good though.

Huh? You do realize housing prices are very low here? Someone with an income of about 50k can easily own a 4 bedroom house here. Maybe they need a slightly higher income in Brentwood, but still under 100k. Try doing that in NYC, SF or LA.

My plan wouldn't arbitrarily try to punish certain states. It should be based on cost of living with housing as one of the criteria obviously. Though it would be better if we could do it on a more local basis than on the state level. Maybe county by county.

[memphis]

Schumer is full of it, though if this is the political posturing we have to endure for people to get that the GOP only cares about the super rich, "so be it". 250k/year is undeniably rich anywhere. I don't care that there are richer people around. A 300 lb person surrounded by 400 lb people is still fat. And somebody making 250k ( in earned income, after all deductions) would pay $0 more under the original Obama plan as tax rate are marginal ,as anybody who knows the first thing about tax code could tell you. And large majorities of people consistently tell pollsters that they want richers to pay more in taxes. The GOP will get burned on this issue. Not that they care. If they give on taxes for richers, they have no reason to exist.

[Sbane]

Schumer is full of it, though if this is the political posturing we have to endure for people to get that the GOP only cares about the super rich, "so be it". 250k/year is undeniably rich anywhere. I don't care that there are richer people around. A 300 lb person surrounded by 400 lb people is still fat. And somebody making 250k ( in earned income, after all deductions) would pay $0 more under the original Obama plan as tax rate are marginal ,as anybody who knows the first thing about tax code could tell you. And large majorities of people consistently tell pollsters that they want richers to pay more in taxes. The GOP will get burned on this issue. Not that they care. If they give on taxes for richers, they have no reason to exist.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/805-Fabert-Cir_Brentwood_TN_37027_M89474-73863

Guess how much this house would cost in a nice neighborhood in the LA area. And Brentwood is basically the nicest place to live in the Nashville area.

[Napoleon]

My comment was referring  to tying taxes to CoL in general not just for $250k+ earners.

[Sbane]

My comment was referring  to tying taxes to CoL in general not just for $250k+ earners.

It would depend how you would do it. Would you raise taxes on the low cost areas, or would you lower taxes on the high cost areas? Though considering our fiscal situation, I think I already know the answer.

I still don't know if it would impact things that much, at least in TN. I don't think this area had the housing bubble on the scale of certain parts of CA and especially AZ, NV and FL.

And AZ and NV are f'ed no matter what. They just don't have enough jobs. Retirees will slowly help the situation, but that will take years. And the exurban growth in CA is f'ed too. I doubt gas prices will go down too much, so yeah....

[Napoleon]

Don't know much about TN, was mostly thinking the high growth Southwest that has been booming up until the market crashed.

[Sbane]

NV and AZ were due to speculators. As well as places like Bakersfield in California as well as some parts of Florida. There was no real demand for those properties, even at a lower price point. Though some places like SBD and Riverside counties are coming back mostly because it's sort of reasonably close to job centers. But as gas prices go up, I'm not sure how good of an investment that is.

[Torie]

This is all the sound and fury that this thread has generated so far?  Surely we can do better than this guys.  I am just so disappointed.

Did everyone enjoy the Obama press conference by the way?  How is the millionaires tax (now that it is that, and Obama is using that number because the Senate Dem b-slapped him), going to pay for slashing the payroll tax by 3% again?  His numbers add up about as well as Cain's.  His regression analysis rather than a straight line appears however to be more in the nature of a random walk.  One would have to hire Muon2 to process it however because it is not only beyond my capacity, but even excel's!

And then that precious little bridge in Maine that is falling apart. What the F is Maine doing with its money? Where are all the gas taxes going these days that are supposed to fund this sort of thing?
Yes, I know, they are being looted. That was a rhetorical question.

And thanks Sbane for including me in the Big Apple special discount rate. Now I can buy even better and more bud, and go to Thailand to get laid more often. Fantastic!  

[Torie]

...We want it all

What is this?  A scrap of bread and a roof over the head?  Seriously Torie, try to exercise better taste in future.

Opebo, you are in charge of the "good/better taste" department. I gave that up when I started taking my testosterone shots. Surely you knew that. I may have to discount your IQ down from 131 closer to the number Gustaf gave you.

[Sbane]

And thanks Sbane for including me in the Big Apple special discount rate. Now I can buy even better and more bud, and go to Thailand to get laid more often. Fantastic! 

I thought you didn't earn that much anymore. Maybe I need to reconsider. No more Thailand trips for you!!!

And is bud really that expensive? Chump change isn't it?

Oh, and look for the trichomes, not the name. I might have mislead you earlier.

[Torie]

And thanks Sbane for including me in the Big Apple special discount rate. Now I can buy even better and more bud, and go to Thailand to get laid more often. Fantastic! 

I thought you didn't earn that much anymore. Maybe I need to reconsider. No more Thailand trips for you!!!

Well maybe I will work a bit more with a nice little tax cut. Supply side baby! 

[Torie]

And thanks Sbane for including me in the Big Apple special discount rate. Now I can buy even better and more bud, and go to Thailand to get laid more often. Fantastic! 

I thought you didn't earn that much anymore. Maybe I need to reconsider. No more Thailand trips for you!!!

And is bud really that expensive? Chump change isn't it?

Oh, and look for the trichomes, not the name. I might have mislead you earlier.

Trichomes?  I have not idea what that is, but it sounds promising!  I spend a lot of money on bud, but yes, that was also just a little rhetorical flourish. Cheers!

[Sbane]

Yup, don't visit dispensaries without a magnifying glass! Trichomes are everything. Everything else is just evil, capitalist branding.

Or just eat it. I know the place with the best cookies.

[Napoleon]

Smoking>eating

Haha the three of us could have a fun sesh

[Torie]

Yup, don't visit dispensaries without a magnifying glass! Trichomes are everything. Everything else is just evil, capitalist branding.

Or just eat it. I know the place with the best cookies.

Oh that is the white stuff that looks like coke, right?  Yes, everything I buy looks like a winter snow storm just blew through.  Of course!

[phk]

99% Percentile, in reference to the Wall Street protesters is at $600k.

[Sbane]

Smoking>eating

Haha the three of us could have a fun sesh

Yes, the effects are different with different routes of administration.

Yup, don't visit dispensaries without a magnifying glass! Trichomes are everything. Everything else is just evil, capitalist branding.

Or just eat it. I know the place with the best cookies.

Oh that is the white stuff that looks like coke, right?  Yes, everything I buy looks like a winter snow storm just blew through.  Of course!

That's what I like to hear! None of that kush nonsense. Don't know what's new these days.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Smoking>eating

Haha the three of us could have a fun sesh

Smoking hash > smoking bud > eating (the body high is way too intense)

As for the title, it's true. Making 250 k a year does not make you rich, it makes you upper middle class. That doesn't mean that taxes shouldn't be raised on their bracket though, they could easily afford to be "soaked" and haven't been hit very hard by the recession.

[Napoleon]

Smoking>eating

Haha the three of us could have a fun sesh

Smoking hash > smoking bud > eating (the body high is way too intense)

As for the title, it's true. Making 250 k a year does not make you rich, it makes you upper middle class. That doesn't mean that taxes shouldn't be raised on their bracket though, they could easily afford to be "soaked" and haven't been hit very hard by the recession.

Hash is too much for me. I like walking.