DNC Convention and "investment"

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Originally Posted by Irving

Would being rich help you achieve your life goal?

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Gotta wonder. Could I still raise my kids to be good men and good citizens if we had way more money? Doesn't work for a lot of rich folks, but it applies across the spectrum of incomes. Could I teach them the same if we were poor? My parents did, for most of us, but it's easier as a parent I think to not see your kids do without nice things. Could my kids get by going to school with just three outfits? Sure, but that's hard on a kid. Will they get a new car on their 16th birthday? Only if my wife buys it with my life insurance.

My loose plan is to start the financial education in high school. I remember ONCE in high school, we all bought stocks with fake money and watched the market for a few weeks.

I imagine I will do a similar exercise with my daughter, only it will be more like I will give her $500, and tell her to make as much money as possible with it as she can in 12 months. Of course I will have instructed her on different techniques before hand. Before all of that, I will cover the bases of how to manage the money that she already has, as I think that is the best foundation to have. You can't just go out and give a poor person money and not expect them to blow it or get in way over their head with it.

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Originally Posted by Rucker61

Gotta wonder. Could I still raise my kids to be good men and good citizens if we had way more money? Doesn't work for a lot of rich folks, but it applies across the spectrum of incomes. Could I teach them the same if we were poor? My parents did, for most of us, but it's easier as a parent I think to not see your kids do without nice things. Could my kids get by going to school with just three outfits? Sure, but that's hard on a kid. Will they get a new car on their 16th birthday? Only if my wife buys it with my life insurance.

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“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'tis dearness only that gives everything its value.”

--Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

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Originally Posted by Irving

Would being rich help you achieve your life goal?

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If you were rich it would help me achieve my life goal of being on welfare. [Tooth]

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Originally Posted by Sharpienads

Duties, imposts, and excise taxes would be up to the federal government, but I'm not sure what they should be set at. I don't know enough about them.

All the other taxes mentioned would be up to the state. IMO, there should be no such thing as a property tax. I would rather pay more in other taxes and have no property tax. I would also rather pay more in taxes to my state than my federal government.

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New question: would you tax churches and non-profits?

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Originally Posted by Rucker61

New question: would you tax churches and non-profits?

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No. Why would you?

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Originally Posted by Sharpienads

No. Why would you?

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Why wouldn't you? Your plan said "everybody pays". How do you determine who is exempt? What qualifies as a church or non-profit?

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Originally Posted by Sharpienads

I think 15% is more than anybody's fair share. If we have an income tax, it ought to be a flat tax. No higher than 10%. And everybody pays. 10% personal and 10% corporate. No deductions, no credits, no tax on investment. If the federal government can't live off that revenue than it is too big and too intrusive, and therefore too coercive.

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I haven't heard Rucker comment on a flat tax yet. I like it. Everyone has some skin in the game then. No free ride at all, ever. Then federal income tax hikes have an effect on every voter - not just the 50% who pay now.

That might change the game a little.

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Originally Posted by Rucker61

What qualifies as a church or non-profit?

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Current tax law qualifies them. Want to change that? Change the law.

Edit: To be clear, I'm sure that the tax law has specifications in them for what exactly qualifies. I'm not going to look up the exact language - you can do that if you want. For example, I can't claim that I am the High Priest of the "GilpinGuy Church" (members: 1) and get exempt.

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Originally Posted by Rucker61

Why wouldn't you? Your plan said "everybody pays". How do you determine who is exempt? What qualifies as a church or non-profit?

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Anybody that receives an income from a church or non profit organization would be taxed. But the organizations themselves would not be taxed. I don't know what the exact legal definition of what a church or nonprofit would be, but it would be what one generally considers to be a church or nonprofit. Not very precise, I know. But you get the general idea. Any money you donate would have already been taxed, and any item you donated would have already been taxed and paid for with already taxed money.