Agreed.. In theory, there need not be..

Yet, as we have all witnessed, the practice from the Left was to demonize those who were financially smarter and more successful..

Once again, if the Left wants to preach from a stable moral ground, it behooves them to clean their own first...

Something about stones and glass houses comes to mind... :D

Michale

My point is, the Left has set themselves up as the arbiter of what is "fair"...

Yet the leadership of the Left are just as guilty of sticking it to the pheasants as the leaders of the Right are..

As you yourself point out...

Doesn't it make sense for the Left to clean their own House first??

Surely it makes preaching to the masses so much easier if they are not adopting a DO AS WE SAY NOT AS WE DO mentality....

Michale

the rich do not pay higher tax rates than anyone, on average they pay lower rates, especially the ultra-rich investor class. that is a fact, and the right-wing meme that the top 1% pay "more taxes" is misleading. whether rich or poor, some people earn what they have, while others get it by inheritance, luck, or less savory means. that the very top pay a WAY smaller percentage of their income (much less their WEALTH) is not fair to the rest of society. congress (both parties, mind you) has taken from the rest of us and given to the wealthy. that's not a knock on the rich themselves, it's a knock on our society for giving them more than they're owed and taking from them less than ought be required.

It could be construed that way, if a specific group is targeted... As is the case in the here and now..

The STICK IT TO THE RICH mentality.. The Left tried to obfuscate it by calling it "Their Fair Share".. But THAT fell on it's face when the facts are the Rich pay more taxes than anyone..

Regardless, profiling doesn't necessarily have to involve punishment or harm..

"the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior."

Nothing in there about harm or punishment. The ACT of singling out groups based on characteristics or behavior is what is "profiling"...

And the Left indulges in it all the time.

Whether it be the wealthy, gun owners or scientists who dispute the Human Caused Global Warming Yet The Planet Is Cooling theory...

The Left WALLOWS in profiling, yet doesn't miss an opportunity to castigate others for the process..

Michale

again, that's pre-defining taxation as punishment or harm, a priori. if there were a war, is conscription through a selective service draft also profiling? is that also harm? is the draft "punishment" for being young and able-bodied? is jury duty punishment?

It is "profiling" in the context that it lumps very diverse groups of people into one lumped group..

For example, the Left treats the group of people who make $251 thousand a year the same as they treat people who make $250 million a year.

In the lexicon of the Left they are all "The Rich" and should all be castigated and ripped off equally.

It's profiling in it's most basic form..

Now, don't get me wrong.. You know me. I am a BIG fan of profiling. It's a vital tool in the CT field and it is exactly why the Israeli SOP guys are so good at their jobs..

But, like so many lines that SHOULD be red for the Left, my only comment is that the Left castigates profiling from the Right in the service of this nation's security, yet embraces profiling in the name of furthering a political agenda.

Michale

i don't follow how a progressive tax rate (instead of regressive, which is what we have now) qualifies as profiling, which is defined as: "the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior." if someone makes millions of dollars a year, i don't suspect them of anything, or target them for punishment. then again, i'm not "the left," so i can't speak for them.

in order for your statement to be true, taxes would have to be pre-defined as punishment or harm, and that's not how i define them. taxes are civic duty, and if you or i come to make substantially more money than 99% of society, the percentage that we owe society for helping enable us to reach that income ought to be higher, not lower.

when marginal tax rates are higher at higher income brackets, the country's economy has prospered. when they are lower at higher brackets, the country suffers. certainly we need to spend less on things that aren't necessary, but we also need to pay enough to meet our obligations, and currently those of us who have the most pay a lower percentage than those struggling in the middle.

Profiling....

Ironically enough, this profiling goes beyond fiscal/tax issues.

Practically EVERY issue that the Left is hysterical about these days involves profiling of groups that the Left despises...

Thereby, once again, proving beyond any doubt that the Left has more in common with the Right than they have differences..

Michale
0587

The problem with this line of thinking is that it indulges in a process that the Left "claims" it is against..

Profiling....

Michale
0586

Doubtful..

I bet if we actually researched the facts, Congress in general would make up the vast majority of the 1%...

The media is largely inept and incompetent, regardless of what part of the political spectrum it ostensibly caters to.

On this, there is no disagreement. :D

Michale
0580

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/as-swing-districts-dwindle-can-a-divided-house-stand/

Thought this was another excellent piece of analysis explaining some of the zaniness in the House.

-David

-David

I don't know ... the congressional Republicans seem to account for more than 1% ... well, they sure act like they do, anyways. :)

The media is largely inept and incompetent, regardless of what part of the political spectrum it ostensibly caters to.

Michale
0578

Doesn't all of this tie in with your 'scrap the cap' on social security taxes?

What if the payroll tax holiday continues - or this rate is even lowered - but the cap on social security taxes is scrapped?