# Why are Republicans pushing to extend the Bush tax cuts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 25, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945 "2010-07-25T14:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/281 "2010-07-28T17:16:08Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > As we approach 50% of the working population that pays nothing in federal taxes then we have to be concerned that there is no disincentive for them to vote to increase taxes even on the poorest taxpayers. And, with almost a majority, they effectively have the key to the Treasury. You keep saying federal taxes when you mean to say federal INCOME taxes. everyone who cashes a paycheck pays FEDERAL payroll TAXES. But I agree that even a nominal amount of federal income taxes would be beneficial for the system. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/282 "2010-07-28T17:19:31Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > I agree with you. My opinion is that everyone (or most) should pay into the system. Ideally, the percentage not paying into the system should be quite small. The problem arises when we approach a point where almost a majority of the country is paying ZERO federal income taxes. Nobody can blame people for voting in their own interests. Invariably, over time, those who are exempted from federal income taxes will not think twice about raising taxes on those paying into the system if this is required to keep their favored programs intact. There is no consequence for those who do not pay into the system so why should they care what the tax rates are for everyone else? > > > > > > I would point out once again, federal income taxes are not the be all and end all of contributions to the system. > > > > You are correct. But, in order to contribute money to the system, which is then spent on things that we choose, you must pay taxes. > > Yes and i’m saying that payroll taxes, state and local taxes, and even sales taxes are contributions to the system. > > For example social security receipts have been aprt of the general budget since LBJ. This conversation has been about federal income taxes from the beginning. We are talking about the federal system. What sense does it make to say that people deserve the right to determine how federal taxes are spent because they pay state taxes? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/283 "2010-07-28T19:46:43Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I agree that tax cuts can be a good stimulus. I once suggested having a payroll tax holiday as part of the stimulus. The problem is that the tax cut had a sunset provision of 7 to 9 years. There is something to be said for the psychological effects of one year tax cuts versus tax cuts that seem more permanent promoting more spending instead of more saving (which is why things like unemployment is such a good stimulus). I agree that one year tax cuts would be more effective, but we still have the problem that their expiration would be a “tax increase.” We seem to be in a system know where taxes ratchet down easily but have a much harder time going up, even when appropriate. If we could automate tax increases for deficit reduction during times of prosperity that would be good. Impractical, but good. Instead we get the “a slight increase will destroy all incentives” nonsense despite the counter-example of the Clinton years. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/284 "2010-07-28T19:50:01Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Just my conspiracy theory but I think that the Bush administration was doing everything it possibly could to make the war as painless to the American public as possible. Everything from the tax cuts instead of tax increases to the use of mercenaries instead of enlisted personnel. And to forbidding pictures of the flag-draped coffins coming home. I’m curious if the tax haters would have hated a tax to pay for Iraq - back when they still thought Iraq was a good idea. What would be your answer if we had actually found WMDs, justifying the war? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/285 "2010-07-28T21:25:49Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > > Do you even understand the concept of rights? Judging from the nonsense you posted I am assuming you do not. > > > > > > > > [Rights - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights) > > > > > > > > Do you? I’m not saying taqht I view everything the poster lists as rights but you seem to have a very specific definition of rights to the exclusion of all other definitions and that doesn;'t seem supportable based on common perceptions of what constitutes rights. > > > > > > As Obama stated, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Do you have the right to seek out an education? Absolutely. Must the government provide you with an education? Of course not. Same goes for healthcare. > > > > In this country you have a right to a public education. Noone can deny you access to the public education system. Does teh constitution guarantee you a puiblic education but like I said that is a very narrow definition fo rights. The original list seems to think of rights in a much more expansive way than that but your definitionof what constitutes a right seems to be limited to the rights outlined in the first ten amendments. > > You are incorrect. You have no RIGHT to be provided with a public education. You have the right to get an education without government interfering with your pursuit. The fact that government has set up a public system that does not turn people away does not make it a right. > > If, tomorrow, the government simply did not have the money to provide public education, are you telling me your rights have been violated? No but I’m telling you that if you showed up to enroll at your local public school and they said no, then your rights have been violated. As a society we have decided that certain things should be available to all regardless of their ability to pay. Education is one of those things and health care is now another. Right now everyone has a right to a public education and if all goes well, pretty soon every American will have a right to health care. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/286 "2010-07-28T21:27:57Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > > I agree with you. My opinion is that everyone (or most) should pay into the system. Ideally, the percentage not paying into the system should be quite small. The problem arises when we approach a point where almost a majority of the country is paying ZERO federal income taxes. Nobody can blame people for voting in their own interests. Invariably, over time, those who are exempted from federal income taxes will not think twice about raising taxes on those paying into the system if this is required to keep their favored programs intact. There is no consequence for those who do not pay into the system so why should they care what the tax rates are for everyone else? > > > > > > > > I would point out once again, federal income taxes are not the be all and end all of contributions to the system. > > > > > > You are correct. But, in order to contribute money to the system, which is then spent on things that we choose, you must pay taxes. > > > > Yes and i’m saying that payroll taxes, state and local taxes, and even sales taxes are contributions to the system. > > > > For example social security receipts have been aprt of the general budget since LBJ. > > This conversation has been about federal income taxes from the beginning. We are talking about the federal system. What sense does it make to say that people deserve the right to determine how federal taxes are spent because they pay state taxes? When you are talking about limiting the ability to vote based on the payment of taxes, I tend to take an expansive view of taxes. If you think the ability to vote in federeal elections should be limited to people who pay federeal taxes, how do you justify ignoring medicare, and social security? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/287 "2010-07-28T21:29:26Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > Just my conspiracy theory but I think that the Bush administration was doing everything it possibly could to make the war as painless to the American public as possible. Everything from the tax cuts instead of tax increases to the use of mercenaries instead of enlisted personnel. > > And to forbidding pictures of the flag-draped coffins coming home. > > I’m curious if the tax haters would have hated a tax to pay for Iraq - back when they still thought Iraq was a good idea. What would be your answer if we had actually found WMDs, justifying the war? Nothing short of a direct connection ebtween Saddam Hussein and 9/11 would have jsutified Iraq for me. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/288 "2010-07-28T21:34:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I agree that one year tax cuts would be more effective, but we still have the problem that their expiration would be a “tax increase.” We seem to be in a system know where taxes ratchet down easily but have a much harder time going up, even when appropriate. If we could automate tax increases for deficit reduction during times of prosperity that would be good. Impractical, but good. Instead we get the “a slight increase will destroy all incentives” nonsense despite the counter-example of the Clinton years. One year tax cuts tend to increase propensity to save don’t they? There once was a time when taxes were raised and lowered with some regularity. In the last 30 years we have had about a dozen tax cuts and two tax increases. The first one got H.W. bush kicked out of office, the second one was During Clinton. The citizenry has acquired a taste for tax cuts and there is one party that seems to think we can keep feeding them tax cuts. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/289 "2010-07-28T21:38:20Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > > > > I agree with you. My opinion is that everyone (or most) should pay into the system. Ideally, the percentage not paying into the system should be quite small. The problem arises when we approach a point where almost a majority of the country is paying ZERO federal income taxes. Nobody can blame people for voting in their own interests. Invariably, over time, those who are exempted from federal income taxes will not think twice about raising taxes on those paying into the system if this is required to keep their favored programs intact. There is no consequence for those who do not pay into the system so why should they care what the tax rates are for everyone else? > > > > > > > > > > I would point out once again, federal income taxes are not the be all and end all of contributions to the system. > > > > > > > > You are correct. But, in order to contribute money to the system, which is then spent on things that we choose, you must pay taxes. > > > > > > Yes and i’m saying that payroll taxes, state and local taxes, and even sales taxes are contributions to the system. > > > > > > For example social security receipts have been aprt of the general budget since LBJ. > > > > This conversation has been about federal income taxes from the beginning. We are talking about the federal system. What sense does it make to say that people deserve the right to determine how federal taxes are spent because they pay state taxes? > > When you are talking about limiting the ability to vote based on the payment of taxes, I tend to take an expansive view of taxes. If you think the ability to vote in federeal elections should be limited to people who pay federeal taxes, how do you justify ignoring medicare, and social security? Medicare and Social Security are benefits that we all get back…assuming we live long enough. That money is, in theory, dedicated for those benefits. It can be ignored for the purposes of this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/290 "2010-07-28T21:47:47Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > > > > > > > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > > > > > > > > > Do you even understand the concept of rights? Judging from the nonsense you posted I am assuming you do not. > > > > > > > > > > [Rights - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights) > > > > > > > > > > Do you? I’m not saying taqht I view everything the poster lists as rights but you seem to have a very specific definition of rights to the exclusion of all other definitions and that doesn;'t seem supportable based on common perceptions of what constitutes rights. > > > > > > > > As Obama stated, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Do you have the right to seek out an education? Absolutely. Must the government provide you with an education? Of course not. Same goes for healthcare. > > > > > > In this country you have a right to a public education. Noone can deny you access to the public education system. Does teh constitution guarantee you a puiblic education but like I said that is a very narrow definition fo rights. The original list seems to think of rights in a much more expansive way than that but your definitionof what constitutes a right seems to be limited to the rights outlined in the first ten amendments. > > > > You are incorrect. You have no RIGHT to be provided with a public education. You have the right to get an education without government interfering with your pursuit. The fact that government has set up a public system that does not turn people away does not make it a right. > > > > If, tomorrow, the government simply did not have the money to provide public education, are you telling me your rights have been violated? > > No but I’m telling you that if you showed up to enroll at your local public school and they said no, then your rights have been violated. > > As a society we have decided that certain things should be available to all regardless of their ability to pay. Education is one of those things and health care is now another. Right now everyone has a right to a public education and if all goes well, pretty soon every American will have a right to health care. A right is not something that can be handed to you by your government. By the same token, health care, which was not available to every american, is still not a right. If the courts decide that the HCR is unconstitutional then have your rights been violated? Rights do not emanate from the government. Negative rights are freedom FROM government. The second ammendment does not dictate that the government MUST provide you with a gun…you are free to go get one. Same goes for education and health care. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/291 "2010-07-29T00:03:43Z")
You know, **Yorick** , just because you _can_ nest quotes seven deep doesn’t mean you _should_. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/292 "2010-07-29T00:48:50Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > > [@Huerta88](#): > > > > **gonzo** , this chart shows me (see Table 4) that while those earning over $68k (and I’m having a seriously hard time calling that “rich,” but never mind for now), … > > Sure, when you establish cut points for a distribution in order to obfuscate, you end up having a seriously hard time. The gross distinctions in that table mean that Bill Gates and I are in the same income category. Voila - the Bush tax cuts did not disproportionately benefit the very wealthy! > > > [@](#): > > > > “got” 67% of the Bush tax cuts (because, naturally, they were paying more to begin with), they ended up paying a greater proportion of all taxes after the cuts than before, and the bottom brackets ended up paying a lesser proportion. > > > > [http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/323.html](http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/323.html) > > And they hurt the economy for everyone. Some just felt the associated pain more acutely than others. This gets to why I don’t think that an “equal pain” rationale for tax policy makes much sense. If you are benefitting way more than I am from the present system, you have a much greater interest in perpetuating it, don’t you? I don’t have a problem with the taxes I pay, because I want to help America continue to survive. However, it doesn’t make sense that my “pain” should be the same as Bill Gates; my “pleasure” sure hasn’t been. [http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0728/top-1-making-280-1979/](http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0728/top-1-making-280-1979/) This is what has been happening in America since Bush. Why you guys can’t get it, L don’t know. the very rich are making out like bandits. The poor and stupid who really do not understand what is going on are able to be convinced that the rich deserve better breaks than the poor and middle class. People believe the reason poor are poor is because they don’t work or try hard enough. That is wrong.The poor work much harder than the wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/293 "2010-07-29T03:05:58Z")
[Extending Bush Tax Cuts WON'T Create Jobs, Says Leading Economist | HuffPost Impact](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/bush-tax-cuts-extending_n_662743.html?ir=Politics) Here is yet another economist who sees that the tax cut should be stopped. He gives the regular reasons, which are so simple to see with open eyes. The tax cuts have done a lot of damage. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/294 "2010-07-29T03:54:52Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:291, topic:547945”] You know, **Yorick** , just because you _can_ nest quotes seven deep doesn’t mean you _should_. [/QUOTE] Well, at least it is symmetrical. Seriously, though, this quote nesting thing must be something new since, in the past, this was not automatic. I’ll have to remember to delete the previous quotes. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/295 "2010-07-29T03:59:38Z")
Ah. I see what I did. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > What’s stupid about it? > > Tax collection is a legal means of extortion. A government that runs deficits is a cash cow for bondholders. Bondholders tend to be rich enough to bankroll aspiring pols. You want responsible legislators, promote from the civil service or something. > > > [@the OP](#): > > > > Despite persistent evidence to the contrary, it’s hard to believe that they are either that stupid or that evil. > > Most people barely vet their elected officials. It’s not that hard to understand how it happens. I left out part of my chain of thought. See, if the government weren’t the government, if it were, say, the Mafia, what it does to raise money would be a sort of extortion. So from the point of view of someone to whom the gov’t is a useful & corruptible human organization, not an authority over oneself, a government is a nice big legal extortion racket. Not my p.o.v., necessarily; the point of view of someone who bankrolls GOP candidates. Bear with me here. A government that demands rents from YOU is perhaps the enemy. But a gov’t that will sell you bonds is useful. From a certain pov (not mine) the most desirable gov’t is one that minimizes one’s tax liabilities & expands access to bonds. Most working people do not experience the gov’t this way. But professional investors, trust fund babies, & the like, **do.** Once the cherry was popped for peacetime deficit spending, the expectation came to be cultivated. Here’s their plan: Raise taxes on the working class by raising FICA & cutting EIC. Use their productivity to fund your investment in T-bills. And the mere humans won’t know what hit 'em. ALL IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/296 "2010-07-29T04:03:25Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > My point is that, ideally, only a small percentage of the working population should be exempt from taxes. As we approach 50% of the working population that pays nothing in federal taxes then we have to be concerned that there is no disincentive for them to vote to increase taxes even on the poorest taxpayers. And, with almost a majority, they effectively have the key to the Treasury. Watch this: **My** point is that, ideally, only a small percentage of the working population should be exempt from federal benefits. As we approach 50% of the working population that receives nothing in federal benefits then we have to be concerned that there is no disincentive for them to vote to decrease benefits even on the poorest beneficiaries. And, with almost a majority, they effectively have the key to the Treasury. See how that works? ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/297 "2010-07-29T04:16:57Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > > [@foolsguinea](#): > > > > But in trying to explain my position, I find I may have to modify it. > > Are you saying that you have been misunderstood or that you have been doped? I don’t know what “doped” means. I guess I was just wrong. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/298 "2010-07-29T04:20:07Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > A right is not something that can be handed to you by your government. By the same token, health care, which was not available to every american, is still not a right. If the courts decide that the HCR is unconstitutional then have your rights been violated? Rights do not emanate from the government. Negative rights are freedom FROM government. The second ammendment does not dictate that the government MUST provide you with a gun…you are free to go get one. Same goes for education and health care. You have a very particular ideological definition of rights. Not a standard or universal one. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/299 "2010-07-29T04:21:05Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I don’t know what “doped” means. I guess I was just wrong. Maybe he meant “duped”? ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/300 "2010-07-29T04:28:17Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > > [@yorick73](#): > > > > My point is that, ideally, only a small percentage of the working population should be exempt from taxes. As we approach 50% of the working population that pays nothing in federal taxes then we have to be concerned that there is no disincentive for them to vote to increase taxes even on the poorest taxpayers. And, with almost a majority, they effectively have the key to the Treasury. > > Watch this: > > **My** point is that, ideally, only a small percentage of the working population should be exempt from federal benefits. As we approach 50% of the working population that receives nothing in federal benefits then we have to be concerned that there is no disincentive for them to vote to decrease benefits even on the poorest beneficiaries. And, with almost a majority, they effectively have the key to the Treasury. > > See how that works? You’re not as clever as you think you are. Don’t you think this would have occurred already? The welfare system can only exist if those who are not on welfare agree that benefits should be paid to those in need. If our government decided against the will of the people to extract wealth from some to give to others, we would vote the bums out of office in short order…kinda like what’s going to happen in November. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945.md?page=16)