From: cryofan@mylinuxisp.com
Date: Wed Apr 16 2003 - 10:35:33 MDT
Rafal Smigrodzki <rafal@smigrodzki.org> said:
> owner-extropians@extropy.org wrote:
> > Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
> >
> >> ...
> >>
> >> ### People living on minimum wages do not pay direct taxes.
> >>
> > ...
> >
> > I don't have any direct experience, but I seem to remember that anyone
> > earning more than $750 a year had to pay income tax. And I know that
> > in college when I was working for $5.00 per hour for short hours I
> > still had income tax withheld, even though my projected yearly income
> > would have been *far* below poverty. (I wasn't a full time job.)
> > But there could be some special rule about people earning minimum
> > wage that I never encountered.
> >
> > My inclination, however, is to doubt your assertion. Do you have
> > particular knowledge indicating that it is true, or is it just "it
> > doesn't seem reasonable"?
> >
> > OTOH, I haven't read that section of the tax manual for many decades.
> > (I assume that you could tell by the $750. That's *got* to be out of
> > date!)
>
> ### Oops, I guess I screwed up here to some extent. Apparently even at
> minimum wage level it is possible to pay some taxes, although the actual
> amounts, both as a percentage and absolute numbers, are tiny, and the amount
> received in entitlements and the use of public goods received by the poor
> vastly exceeds their contribution to the economy.
>
> However, this was only a side remark, not particularly relevant to the
> question of whether minimum wage laws are an efficient method of subsidizing
> the poor.
>
> Rafal
>
gee, I really hate to drag cold numbers into your little conversation, but I
just cannot resist:
--A single male working at ~ min wage == ~ $6/hr =~ 12k/yr;
--from the USA tax table --> standard deduction == 7.7K;
-- so taxable income ==~5K
and from the tax table, that person would owe about $500 in income taxes
taxes. Plus about 8% goes to Social Security and medicare ==~ 12K (.08) ==
$1000.
So he now has a take home of 12K-1.5K == 10.5K, or about $800/month.
let's see how it looks to the single male getting 12K/yr.
An apartment here in Houston costs about $400, and that is distinctly low-
end. == $5000/yr, counting deposit, etc.
That leaves 5.5K;
Electricity =~ $40/mon ==~ $500;
-leaves 5K;
Phone =~ $300/yr.
leaves ~ 4.4K
Food =~ $/day (rice,beans, oatmeal, etc) =~ $1500/yr;
leaves ~ 3K.
transportation: car payment = 200/month for a used car, insurance == 100/mon
totals ...hmmm ~ 4K with registration taxes etc...
So, no transportation unless he lives near a bus line, which drives the cost
of the apartment up to $500/month.
So what is left? Maybe 2K for "emergencies" such as medical care.
Now THAT is the way to keep the poor boys down. That way it is harder for
them to pass on their genes, and *our* successful genes will have a better
chance of survival and being passed on.
Well, maybe *that* part is not covered all that well in the tax tables, etc.
But isn't that what life as a social animal is all about: once the successful
animals reach a position of power, they use that power to hamper reproduction
by the less successful animals in the society....
So therefore we gotta take that 1.5K in taxes away from the poor boys (Here
in the USA, women are able to get welfare, BTW; men are not unless disabled).
Otherwise they might use that 1.5K to get a flashy bower, err....car, and
thereby compete with us for women's attention, and thus weaken our chances
for genetic dominance....and we just can't have that....
Now, for someone like me or you, lets see:
suppose I make 55K, which gives me 47K taxable, and I pay 9K fed tax + 4K SS
tax. That leaves me with > 30K left over, and suppose I spend 10K on my
condo, and food etc.
That leaves me with 20K to build a great bower....er, get a nice flashy
car...I think I will get a big loud stereo and one of those neon license
plate holders....the women won't be able to miss me in that thing.
GENETIC DOMINANCE, HERE I COME!
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Apr 16 2003 - 10:42:39 MDT