# Fuck Harry Reid! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694 "2010-02-12T12:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/101 "2010-02-12T18:46:59Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > As for **Slypork** ’s “friends that made it big”: Bullshit. They didn’t. Your friends are maybe upper middle class, at best. They pay more taxes because they have a lot of money and not much voice. The super-rich, which are the ones these tax increases hit, pay a smaller percentage in taxes than you probably do. I’m glad you’ve bought into the meme of punishing people for their hard work hook, line, and sinker – it just goes to demonstrate that if you frame something the right way, they will thank you even as the knife goes in. You’re right, they’re not _Dynasty_-level rich. They usually can’t just jet off to Aruba at the drop of a hat or drop 10g’s at the craps table. Instead they schedule vacations (usually flying coach), plan their purchases (never paid outright but taking loans), and saving their money. That’s how they are able to live comfortably. And they hate that they get screwed over because they are considered “rich” when it comes to tax time. And **Elvis** , no they are not expecting their kids to live on welfare, either literally or by getting an inheritance. But these are people with young kids and they don’t want their families to lose a large chunk of what was earned and saved. In some cases their wives don’t work, usually by choice, so the idea of them just jumping into the workforce and finding a job making a comparable salary that will enable them to pay the mortgage on a million dollar home (which, depending on the neighborhood, is not necessarily a mansion), car payments, utilities, private school tuitions, property taxes, etc. is ridiculous. The sole source of income dies so the widow has to sell the house, pull the kids from their schools, tell the kids they can’t continue with their activities and so on? ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/102 "2010-02-12T19:31:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > If I died tomorrow, my estate would be worth somewhere slightly north of $1M. I worked damned hard for 40 years to position myself for retirement. The thought of the government taking 55% of that just fries my ass. If I understand correctly, the 55% would be on the ‘slightly north’ part. Not the ‘$1M’ part. So if you leave 1.1M the tax would be $55,000 (which would be 5% of 1.1M). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/103 "2010-02-12T19:34:32Z")
> [@Slypork](#): > > And **Elvis** , no they are not expecting their kids to live on welfare, either literally or by getting an inheritance. Then they shouldn’t be squawking about their estates getting taxed, should they? Especially if that tax doesn’t even apply to the first million, an amount which, by the way, one can live off comfortably without having to go earn shit. > [@](#): > > The sole source of income dies so the widow has to sell the house, pull the kids from their schools, tell the kids they can’t continue with their activities and so on? My criticism is of those who take that position in regard to their own families, while telling people they’re not related to to go do exactly what you say, while adding sermons about how it’s good for their character, too. Hence my bringing up the “welfare” question that keeps getting danced around, or, like **magellan01** and the earned vs. unearned income question, completely ignored. Speaking of whom, that’s a guy for whom “Gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry because, well, something bad might happen” constitutes _reasoning_. So, little can be expected from him, and even less has been brought forward here. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/104 "2010-02-12T19:35:28Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > [This may be more likely than you think.](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/01/senate-rankings-post-masspocalypse.html) > > And, as a loyal Democrat, I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing. Even if he does win, he shouldn’t be Majority Leader. This is my opinion as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/105 "2010-02-12T19:47:39Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Why don’t you attempt a contribution for change and attempt to answer the questions THAT YOU QUOTED? Because, shit-for-brains, your question showed that you don’t understand the issue. Have you looked it up yet? Progressive Tax. > [@DanBlather](#): > > He said no such thing. He said taxes are paid on the income, no where did he say that it was paid on the entire $100. But beyond that, even if we deduct the expenses from revenue, the point is still 100% accurate. Let’s say each transaction resulted in a 10% profit. After 10 transactions there is still tax being paid on more than the initial $100. > To make it worse, this is what you said initially: But he never used the word revenue. You made it up. He said income. I am not sure why you conservatives need to lie every time you open your mouth. If the true facts don’t support your position, rethink it. That is what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/106 "2010-02-12T20:09:45Z")
I’m also amused by the outrage that the Dems aren’t acting in the spirit of bipartisanship. Well, how-dee-fucking-doo. Because, you know, requiring the Dems to have a supermajority to pass anything of consequence in the senate is _totally_ showing bipartisan spirit. In other words, the conservatives crying that they aren’t getting their way can go fuck themselves and the horses they rode in on. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/107 "2010-02-12T20:28:08Z")
I have to admit that conservatives were brilliant marketers for coming up with the phrase “Death Tax.” It sounds so unfair, taxing people for being dead! How mean spirited. Liberals should come up with a clever phrase of their own. I humbly submit that we relabel it the “Unearned Wealth Tax” or the “Spoiled Trust Fund Kid Tax.” ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/108 "2010-02-12T21:55:07Z")
> [@Slypork](#): > > YIn some cases their wives don’t work, usually by choice, so the idea of them just jumping into the workforce and finding a job making a comparable salary that will enable them to pay the mortgage on a million dollar home (which, depending on the neighborhood, is not necessarily a mansion), car payments, utilities, private school tuitions, property taxes, etc. is ridiculous. The sole source of income dies so the widow has to sell the house, pull the kids from their schools, tell the kids they can’t continue with their activities and so on? You do know that widows don’t pay estate tax when the husband dies? ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/109 "2010-02-12T22:02:42Z")
Further, I’m not entirely sure we need to format our tax structure so as to prevent the wealthy from needing to work to stay wealthy. If I make 100k a year and my wife does nothing and has no skills, and then I die, my wife will be in a bit of a pickle. She’ll have to, y’know, become a productive member of society, and probably sell the house and all of the things that are part of our $100k lifestyle and get used to whatever she can afford. I’ve got no strong feelings regarding estate taxes in any one direction, but if your argument is that the idle rich wont be able to afford the mansions their dead relatives worked for, it might be time to reconsider said argument. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/110 "2010-02-12T22:37:43Z")
I wonder if you could… I dunno, buy some type of service that would help. You could call it insurance. Maybe… _life_ insurance. You could also plan your estate to provide lifetime income! I wonder if there are any people out there whose job it is to put all these things together. I bet they are expensive, though. Only, like, really rich people could afford it. But my main worry is how the estate tax hurts poor families. What if dad dies suddenly, because he had a pre-existing condition like acne and was denied coverage for cancer, and now the poor mom with her 3 kids can’t afford daycare? I know, it’s a lot more rare and a lot less tragic than a trophy wife with no skills having to move out of her tri-level in the Hamptons, but we have to think of the people who don’t have the terrible burden of too much money and time, people who have the luxury of always having something to do (work) and who don’t need to make those harsh decisions like which 3 pairs of manolo blahniks they should pick up after their spa visit. You know, the spoiled poors. BTW: Jesus H. Christ, are you actually asking us to feel bad for the poor trophy wife who _will be getting more than a million dollars even after estate taxes_? You fucking ignoramatarian! Have you ever said that out loud? I mean, how can you have no fucking idea just how idiotic you sound? Shit, a million dollars is nearly 20 times the mean yearly income. She can suck (another) dick, whining about estate tax putting her out on the street. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/111 "2010-02-12T22:40:00Z")
Spouses don’t pay estate taxes. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/112 "2010-02-12T22:44:48Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Spouses don’t pay estate taxes. I know. But that level of idiocy will not be corrected by mere facts. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/113 "2010-02-12T23:05:26Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Really, if you are this stupid just stop talking. You mean REVENUE, not income. Taxes _are_ paid on income. I told you guys that cutting education would come back to haunt you. Do you want to rethink this assertion? Maybe dust off your own old textbooks and take a refresher? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/114 "2010-02-12T23:13:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Maybe they worked, and maybe they didn’t. Most likely not. It’s a complete myth that most people get rich by working. Be that as it may, the person _inheriting_ the money didn’t earn it. It’s just a windfall. So, the roughly ~1 mil. my Mom took from Anheuser-Busch after 30 years of working, and investing in the company’s Employee Stock Purchase Program, and her 401k, all that was unearned money? I’m working for ~$45k - ~50k a year. I’m putting money in my employer’s retirement plan. I have other investments, as well. Not a lot, as I don’t have a whole lot left over to invest. But I’ve been doing it since 1995. A little here, a little there, riding out “downturns,” moving investments when it seems necessary to “play it safe” and preserve what I have invested. Based on historic performance, I’m going to retire at 65 worth a bit over $2 mil. Am I to understand that, in your opinion, that money is unearned? That my beneficiaries don’t deserve to benefit from the work I have done in my life, once I pass on? That the government should take 55% of my net worth and give it to someone else _more_ deserving than my own family, my own children? ---
**Author:** ![culture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@culture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/culture)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/115 "2010-02-12T23:21:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Maybe they worked, and maybe they didn’t. Most likely not. It’s a complete myth that most people get rich by working. This is a very interesting observation. Before I call you out on it, I would like to know your definition of rich. Could you provide such data? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/116 "2010-02-12T23:23:31Z")
I’ll say it: I don’t care about anybody’s definition of “unearned” or their opinions about who deserves their money. It ain’t the government’s money. I understand that taxes are unavoidable. But my starting point is that everybody’s money (including that earned, inherited, or won at the craps table) starts out as their own, and we should take as little as possible. The government doesn’t get dibs on other people’s stuff because some of our more enlightened folk decide those people don’t deserve it. The solution is not to tax more, it’s to stop spending so much fucking money. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/117 "2010-02-12T23:33:25Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > That the government should take 55% of my net worth and give it to someone else _more_ deserving than my own family, my own children? I hereby declare that if you don’t even understand how the estate tax works, you should not post about it. **Extank** : You have no fucking clue what you are even talking about. You also seem to have a complete lack of understanding as to how your retirement account actually works. I am not going to bother explaining it to you either. Your tragic misconceptions can be addressed by any number of reputable internet sources, and even correcting the misapprehensions about your mother’s lifetime net income and tax effects thereon would take hours, given your apparent ability to not read. Let me just put it this way: you are a poor. You’re not even middle middle class. That’s ok. Most of us are poors. If you think that capital gains and estate taxes and above the line deductions matter, or will matter, given your current lifetime earnings projections, you are wrong. I’m sorry to break it to you, but that’s just the way it is. Your ignorance is correctable, thus excusable. Willfully maintaining that ignorance is not. This sort of tax discussion has as little impact on your tax liability as Scarlett Johansson’s blowjob technique has on your penis – in either case the only time you are likely to experience either is during your “private time”. Don’t be a gullible schmuck. It’s a good skill in life that when a giant pile of horseshit lands on your head, you are able to say “Wow, that appears to be horseshit!”. Here’s your chance to gain this valuable talent. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/118 "2010-02-12T23:37:00Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Do you want to rethink this assertion? Maybe dust off your own old textbooks and take a refresher? No thanks: from Wiki > [@](#): > > Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms.[1] However, for households and individuals, “income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings received… in a given period of time.”[2] For firms, income generally refers to net-profit: what remains of revenue after expenses have been subtracted.[1] Note that for individuals, it includes _profits_ and for businesses it is the _what remains of revenue after expenses have been subtracted_. Money paid to any of the folks cited in the example is not salary or wages, it is revenue which will be offset by expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/119 "2010-02-12T23:44:43Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > No thanks: from Wiki > Note that for individuals, it includes _profits_ and for businesses it is the _what remains of revenue after expenses have been subtracted_. Money paid to any of the folks cited in the example is not salary or wages, it is revenue which will be offset by expenses. Touche. I thought you were ignoring the impact of business expenses on taxation. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![culture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@culture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/culture)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694/120 "2010-02-12T23:46:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Because, shit-for-brains, your question showed that you don’t understand the issue. Have you looked it up yet? Progressive Tax. I think everyone understands what progressive tax means. The questions is: What is a reasonable limit for the upper tax bracket? Do you have an opinion? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-harry-reid/528694.md?page=7)