Once again I have to voice my disagreement with Victor Reilly’s comments in his recent letter about Mitt Romney’s finances and his use of the 15 percent capital gains tax (“Romney’s tax rate unfair,” Jan. 27).
Reilly seems to forget that Romney first had to earn the money from salary (taxed at a much higher rate) to invest to receive investment income. Reilly’s entire letter finds fault with Romney’s financial success in spite of the fact that Romney pays a far greater amount of taxes than most of us.
It also implies there is something wrong with being successful. Isn’t that what it’s all about? The opportunity to be successful? The wealthiest 25 percent of Americans pay 87 percent of federal taxes. Romney’s use of the 15 percent rate is the law of the land. President Obama extended this 15 percent rate through 2012 (and it will expire at year’s end) by legislation passed through a Democratic Congress and signed by the president. Can it be all bad if Democrats proposed it?
Here are some additional facts about this preferred rate: It was passed by Congress to provide incentives for investors to make capital investments to fund entrepreneurial activity, and to compensate them for the effect of inflation and the corporate income tax. In other words, it’s seed money to get business going and growing, and a reward for taking a risk on the enterprise becoming profitable.
Incidentally, the Simpson-Bowles bipartisan committee formed by Obama to address the nation’s financial woes recommended elimination of the 15 percent rate. After thanking the group, the report was filed without action by the president.
This republic was founded on the basis of free enterprise. The system has worked well for more than 200 years and is admired throughout the world. People from other countries flock to our shores for the opportunity to better themselves. We should be demanding elected officials to allow Americans to do just that.
Jack Burke
Aiken, S.C.
Man, I came here to see if the new job numbers came out. :-)
Senator Marco Rubio, 27 Jan , 2012
"We have always been a nation of haves and soon to haves, a people who have made it and people who believe that given the chance they will make it too. And if we lose that, we lose the essence of what’s made us great in terms of economics."
"We've chosen to become like the countries that your parents and grandparents came here to get away from."
Romney voted to not let the Boy Scouts volunteer at the Olympic Games he headed. Why? He disagrees with the fact that the BSA refuses to have a homosexual leader of a troop. When governer, he refused to sign a Massachusetts law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The#of registered Republicans went down 31%under his watch while the Democrats gained 30%. That fact alone questions his leadership abilities.
Jan 2011 we had the same kind of surge in jobs, it didn't seem to last long enough. Tax-preparers, delivery personnel, other additional temporary help. Hopefully the tax season can last all year??
Jack Burke is totally misleading when he says Simpson Bowles proposes eliminating the 15% capital gains tax. Burke implies the suggestion was similar to the proposal by Gingrich and others that the capital gains tax be lowered to 0%, or no tax at all. But in fact, that is not was not the S-B proposal. This summarizes the S-B position: "the current long term capital gains tax rate of 15% is not likely to be around forever, and could very well be a victim of the U.S. budget and deficit debate. Indeed the Simpson Bowles recommendation would tax all capital gains at the ordinary income rate. While the Simpson Bowles plan would lower the individual rates (in exchange for elimination of many deductions) the top rate would still come in at 28%, resulting in an 86% increase in the long term capital gains tax for the top rate." Burke is either misinformed or willing to pass on half truths.
If there is one thing the US has to answer for somewhere down the road it is creating a culture of dependency.
It was not meant to be...to keep people in the under-class? ..NO way!
Obama can talk his kind of class warfare but creating the poor for the personal gain of politicians should be the subject of his actions.
Lastinger. We have to give Romney the benefit of doubt. We go with the one who might not be everything but will be closer than what we have. We won't find perfection...it doesn't exist.
Free market capitalism has brought more people out of poverty than any other system ever created by man....By virtue of the fact that some work harder or are smarter and yes, better connected, there will ALWAYS be winners and losers. That can never be changed.
Benjamin Franklin said it best:
"1. Compassion which gives a drunk the means to increase his drunkenness is counter-productive.
2.Compassion which breeds debilitating dependency and weakness is counter-productive.
3.Compassion which blunts the desire or neccessity to work for a living is counter-productive.
4. Compassion which smothers the instinct to strive and excel is counter- productive."
The point being, do not help the needy completely, help them help themselves. In doing this they will have the satisfaction of earned achievement,instead of rewarding them without achievement.
Free market enterprise is the only known system which will achieve this,not government hand-outs. The founders would roll over in their graves if they saw how this system has been used to further grand vote buying schemes by politicians to fool the ignorant into thinking government is the solution to all our problems...We are now reaping the seeds sown over many generations of "enabling" sloth.
Having said all that: It IS the responsibility of those who have succeeded to help those who have not.And in doing so they (we) help society as a whole...Maintaing free and open markets with as little government intrusion as possible is the only way to ensure this will happen....off my soapbox now....
Yeh Haki, the new numbers are out. After 37 months they are still higher than where Obama said they would ever go if we let him blow a few $trillion bucks.
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