NEWSMAX: The tax legislation passed at the start of 2013 permanently extended the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for most people but also added a top marginal tax rate of 39.6 percent for those at higher incomes – $400,000 for single filers, $450,000 for married couples filing jointly and $425,000 for heads of household.
On top of that, higher-income taxpayers could see their itemized deductions and personal exemptions phased out and pay higher capital gains taxes – 20 percent for some taxpayers. And there are new taxes for them to help pay for the new health care law…
An additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax, for example, kicks in on earnings over $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and $200,000 for singles and heads of household. Same for an extra 3.8 percent tax on investment income… (more)
EDITOR: This is part of the price of Democracy, as is being subject to the draft during times when it is imposed. The country was not established to be a rat race to see who could accumulate the most; it was to serve the general well being of the public. We musn’t lose that focus. Of course the public should demand value for its money. But Democracy is not as efficient as dictatorship.
These tax rates seem high given the wages of a two income professional family. Fair taxation should range to the 70% level for incomes above 1 million; all should be inflation adjusted. We won’t ever see it because the rich and powerful in America want to put the burden of government wealth distribution on the backs of the middle class. Hopefully the middle class will learn to stop earning and take more time off.
As for the draft, as a Viet Nam era veteran, one has only to look at the demographics to see how unfair it has been and how cheap are the lives of our young men because the US fails to use it’s full military force when engaged in combat.