Government Think Speak:
“If you are rich, we need to redistribute your wealth”
“If you are poor, we need to give you more to make you whole”
“America the country where you can rise from poverty to wealth”
What is wrong with this vison?
The real vision: poor people have no money; they spend everything they earn. They hate “Rich People.” The only difference between poor people and rich people is that if you can save $100 dollars a month for your whole life you will get rich.
Through out history people always got old by accident. They didn’t start saving for retirement until it was too late. Getting old is a very slow gradual process.
A basic fact of life is that most people want to enjoy life now, whatever the cost, and pay for it later. This will leave the worker with zero savings. It is no surprise that the Federal Government employs the same philosophy. And we have a 22 trillion-dollar deficit to prove it.
As we approach retirement, not everyone ends up poor. Some people decided early to save money and over time and became rich. Many people reach retirement with savings. Now back in the 1960’s the government needed more money to borrow and they created the 401K retirement program. This program was not for the average citizen to save more for retirement as everyone assumed, rather it was a plan to make more money available for the government to borrow.
Government Social security is a false hope for many. Why save for retirement when you have Social Security? I think many who retire now realize that Social Security is not enough to pay the bills.
So, the rant “Tax the Rich,” makes sense. The government needs more money to fund all of its programs. It used to only tax earnings and investment income. The government has pushed that to its limit. The big reason the government reduced the top income tax rate from 90% was because it generated no income. As a taxpayer, when you get to the 90% tax rate, why work an hour at say $100 and only get to keep $10 of it? Tell me that the people passing the laws understand economics.
Now to tie this all together, Big government needs more income in some form of Tax. They need real money not printed dollars. The only place that can provide the money is from people who have saved up over time; the retirees. These are the rich people, and notice that you can only tax their income as they earn it. Once the tax is paid, they owe no more. So, at that point, how do you tax the rich? The government already taxes their toys.
I really have no answer as to how government will get its hands on the money. The democrats have murmured about a wealth tax of 12%. The government could link your private pension in some way with Social Security—i.e. no social security if your pension is over 50K a year. Government mandated health insurance could bring in $5,000 a year per person (people age 18 to 65). A retirement tax of say 30 percent on your pension (I really see this one working) (people would be too old to complain) (government is in line before the rest home costs). A non-citizen tax of say $10,000 per year per family could be a real good one (pay or face deportation).
The thing we need to be very aware of is that the country is going broke. And it cannot be blamed on the Rich. They pay most of the taxes. What we as a people need to realize is that any money raised by the government has to come from people who haven’t spent it yet. We are just about there. Visible assets are taxable. If you have money, the government wants it, you do not have to be rich to have it taken away by them.
Gold, Silver and Platinum appear to be three ways to hide your wealth right now. Interest rates are so low, that they are meaningless. Holding precious metals is not much of a risk considering that inflation has not truly reflected the ridiculous amount of printed money in circulation. I am not really trying to plug precious metals, but there are ways to transfer your wealth when you die to avoid probate and taxes. Precious metals in a safety deposit box is one of them. Forming a living trust for your home is another. You need to be aware of how the government wants to claim a tax on what you have worked your whole life for.
Remember one thing “Tax the Rich,” can be rewritten “Tax the wage earner.” The real rich don’t work so they don’t have any income taxes to pay. Anybody can get rich if they save their dollars, the trouble is, it takes planning for the future and many don't think that far ahead.
