Some of the main breaks I'd like to highlight:
- In 2009, millionaires received $1.142 billion in Social Security payments.
- The Department of Labor estimated it improperly paid $17.5 billion of unemployment to people who were ineligible. In 2009, millionaires received over $17 million in unemployment benefits.
- Because of tax deductions, millionaires deducted $27.7 billion of mortgage interest and $64.2 billion in rental expenses between 2006 and 2009.
- Every year millionaires have been allowed to deduction on average $5.2 billion in gambling losses.
More indepth below the break...
And a nice table I created based off page 3 of Coburn's report:
With Coburn's most recent report, he points out that the system is flawed. The system isn't helping us, the system is providing special benefits to a small group of individuals. This isn't railing on the rich. Anyone who says they wouldn't take advantage of the opportunities given to them is a liar. The point made by the report is that anything other than a simple tax code will ultimately benefit those with lawyers and tax professionals. Many of the programs that are meant to help the poor do fulfill their purpose... but are also taken advantage of by many others. The "have-nots" will always get the short end of the stick. So while many of these "have-nots" whine for more and more benefits, then complain that the rich don't pay enough... what they don't realize is they're part of the reason the rich don't pay enough!
I've always been against MOST programs in the federal government... Yes, that means welfare, social security, unemployment, medicare... all of it. Time and time again we've seen big government programs grow and grow and grow. Lobbyist and special interests don't allow these programs to shrink. Every piece of legislation through Washington has a winner and loser... and it will always be this way until we correct the system issues. Here are some of my ideas(commandeered from others)...
Simplify Personal Taxes
Everyone says it, but no one will do it. Let's quit worrying about all these deductions... let's have a standard deduction. No itemizing, no other "breaks". You have your rate, you get an exemption for kids, and then a standard deduction. If you want, make the deduction based off income level... that's fine by me. It all starts here. You have a 35% tax rate with people paying less than 15%... the real tax rates in no way reflect actual rates and like mentioned above, only benefit those who have lawyers and tax professionals.
Get rid of Corporate taxes
Not everyone agrees with this, but it's double taxation. Someone owns a company and pays taxes on the profits. They then have to also pay taxes on the profit at a personal level... Also, corporate taxes only hurt the consumer. The tax gets built into the price of the product, and anything that is built into the price of product hurts the poor the most. The left is all about raising corporate taxes, but in the end the burden ends up on those they claim to protect.
At the very least, lower the rate to 15% and take away any breaks they receive. Tax analysis done all over shows that GE and many big oil companies have effectively paid 0% over the past 5 years. This goes back to Washington... they all have their lobbyists and get special deals. If we eliminate the specials deals, we create a consistent tax basis across industries and politicians can no longer do favors for their biggest donors.
Overhaul Welfare and Unemployment
Personally, I'd like to overhaul all the programs, but these 2 especially. With both, you're creating dependency and no one should be able to indefinitely pull from welfare. The current system creates dependence... and then we wonder why we can't get people off the roles. It doesn't pay to look for a job or way out. If you get paid for nothing, your motivation to move is lower than low.
I read a book a while back about a complete overhaul of the system. Getting rid of any and every government program... and depositing a payment to all LEGAL citizens every month. Every year all citizens 16 and up would be paid around $10,000 based off a few different factors. Then, when filling out taxes, individuals who made over certain limits would "owe" that money back. This system essentially means no matter your job or living situation... you get money in your account every month. Just enough to cover the basics in life and not much more. Isn't that the point of these systems... to allow people to get by while between jobs? It serves the purpose and also opens up a variety of other options(say you want to start a business, you have a guaranteed income).
Fix Social Security
We can't continue to push the timeline down the road. We're almost to the end point... it's almost too late. But no politician wants to get blood on their hands. I understand... they have to run for office again. But it has to be fixed. This is also why I think we need term limits, but that's a whole different issue.
The solutions for social security are wide ranging. But, I'll specifically discuss the one Coburn pointed out in his paper. In 2009, $1.14 billion in Social Security went to people with AGI's above $1 million. I know they paid in... and they "deserve" to get some money. Sadly, these are desperate times. I could definitely support limiting social security to those with AGI's over $1 million. A buddy of mine, Derrick Bemis, actually pioneered this idea 2 years back... a real free thinker he his.
With our current financial situation, everyone has a plan for how to fix us. The left wants to raise taxes on the rich. The right wants to cut services to everyone but themselves. No one has real solutions. You can only complain so long without providing alternatives. Well, these are my solutions. Let me know what you think!
I've always been against MOST programs in the federal government... Yes, that means welfare, social security, unemployment, medicare... all of it. Time and time again we've seen big government programs grow and grow and grow. Lobbyist and special interests don't allow these programs to shrink. Every piece of legislation through Washington has a winner and loser... and it will always be this way until we correct the system issues. Here are some of my ideas(commandeered from others)...
Simplify Personal Taxes
Everyone says it, but no one will do it. Let's quit worrying about all these deductions... let's have a standard deduction. No itemizing, no other "breaks". You have your rate, you get an exemption for kids, and then a standard deduction. If you want, make the deduction based off income level... that's fine by me. It all starts here. You have a 35% tax rate with people paying less than 15%... the real tax rates in no way reflect actual rates and like mentioned above, only benefit those who have lawyers and tax professionals.
Get rid of Corporate taxes
Not everyone agrees with this, but it's double taxation. Someone owns a company and pays taxes on the profits. They then have to also pay taxes on the profit at a personal level... Also, corporate taxes only hurt the consumer. The tax gets built into the price of the product, and anything that is built into the price of product hurts the poor the most. The left is all about raising corporate taxes, but in the end the burden ends up on those they claim to protect.
At the very least, lower the rate to 15% and take away any breaks they receive. Tax analysis done all over shows that GE and many big oil companies have effectively paid 0% over the past 5 years. This goes back to Washington... they all have their lobbyists and get special deals. If we eliminate the specials deals, we create a consistent tax basis across industries and politicians can no longer do favors for their biggest donors.
Overhaul Welfare and Unemployment
Personally, I'd like to overhaul all the programs, but these 2 especially. With both, you're creating dependency and no one should be able to indefinitely pull from welfare. The current system creates dependence... and then we wonder why we can't get people off the roles. It doesn't pay to look for a job or way out. If you get paid for nothing, your motivation to move is lower than low.
I read a book a while back about a complete overhaul of the system. Getting rid of any and every government program... and depositing a payment to all LEGAL citizens every month. Every year all citizens 16 and up would be paid around $10,000 based off a few different factors. Then, when filling out taxes, individuals who made over certain limits would "owe" that money back. This system essentially means no matter your job or living situation... you get money in your account every month. Just enough to cover the basics in life and not much more. Isn't that the point of these systems... to allow people to get by while between jobs? It serves the purpose and also opens up a variety of other options(say you want to start a business, you have a guaranteed income).
Fix Social Security
We can't continue to push the timeline down the road. We're almost to the end point... it's almost too late. But no politician wants to get blood on their hands. I understand... they have to run for office again. But it has to be fixed. This is also why I think we need term limits, but that's a whole different issue.
The solutions for social security are wide ranging. But, I'll specifically discuss the one Coburn pointed out in his paper. In 2009, $1.14 billion in Social Security went to people with AGI's above $1 million. I know they paid in... and they "deserve" to get some money. Sadly, these are desperate times. I could definitely support limiting social security to those with AGI's over $1 million. A buddy of mine, Derrick Bemis, actually pioneered this idea 2 years back... a real free thinker he his.
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