10 T - cash & cd's in banks
20 T - residental property
5 T - commercial property
30 T - stocks
30 T - government bonds
5 T - corporate bonds
20 T - annuities, insurance,
commodities, other physical
assets
------------------------------
120 trillion for public corporations revise to 200-300 trillion when all businesses and individuals included --- fed rev reports
.
• median years per job 4.1 yrs
• number of jobs per lifetime 7-10
• median years per job age age 55-64
9.9 yrs
top 1% = 45% usa wealth
top 2% = 60% usa wealth
top 5% = 80% usa wealth
top 10% = 90% usa wealth
bill gates $50b has more wealth than the bottom forty percent of americans combined
average effective tax rate ( all taxes combined ) individuals & families
• 1m+ - 17.7%
• 250k to 1m - 18.1%
• 55k (US median family income) to 250k - 22.7%
• 55k to 18k (US median family poverty level for 2.9 persons) - 19.3%
• < 18k - 15.1% , 3/4 of which offset by EITC
effective income tax rate all US corporations (excluding sCORP) - 7%
effective income tax rate for sCORP which make up 70% of US business - < 5%
• 80% of sCORP's make 50k or less (including 60% that break even or lose money)
• marginal consumption rates of middle income to poor range from 90 - 100%
income/wealth effective tax rate
• 1m+ - 1.1% to .1%
US income tax/ all business 2009... 140 b
taxes benefit all of society
US bank bonuses 2009... 150 b
US total charity giving 2009... 340 b -2% of GDP
• all jobs ultimately come from government since all money and it's legal use comes from the US treasury
• banks get their charters from government and with that the ability to create money
------------------------------
factoid: median property tax us $1,917 - wsj
factoid: median property tax illinois $3,300 higher than california $2,750
- highest nj $7,000 - wsj
factoid: average family has property tax surplus --- here's the math 1kid x 12k per yr school costs x 13yr of school = 156k x 2kids = 312k --- average family parents will be 27-40yrs of age during this 13yr period and will pay around 38k in property taxes from time the children are born to high school graduation --- all things remaining being equal they will pay a total of 152k by the time their 80yrs of age
factoid: small/med business 39% in the black, 30% even, 30% in the red
90% new business fail within 3yrs
90% established business fail within 10yrs
factoid: businesses run far higher debt ratios than the US government... capital spending & growth are the driving factors
factoid: private US debt is 43T
------------------------------
policy wonk
• run fed, state, local gov cars and trucks with natural gas (retro-fit)
• all new non electric or hybbrid cars should be (retro-fit) for gas/ethanol/methanol
• 4 super-nuke plants by 2020 --- all in the deep south since the are more receptive towards nukes
• wind & solar 20% of US energy capacity by 2020
• establish base price for barrel of oil
@ $75 (2008 price) to keep alternatives competitive
• end private for profit healthcare insurance, replace with universal medicare where persons up to 18 yrs pay no premiums, families and individuals 18 to 65 pay a pro-rated yearly rate for their age group --- tax incentives and rebates according to income --- private insurers would be allowed in secondary markets
• supplement social security with government administered term life insurance, 500k per household from ages 21 to 50 @ .50% of earned income paid by employer
------------------------------
markets include all human action (private & government)
Total Assets US (2010 est) --- 200-300 trillion
Total GDP --- 15t + 2-3t (underground economy)
Total Taxes (fed, state, local, sales, prop, etc) 3.8 trillion
gross-up = back loaded payment of taxes on income and perks
billionaires & millionaires have 5x to 10x more in wealth than declared
total world wealth = one quadrillion
america is divided by the three capitalisms... crony, realist, ideological
60% of bankruptcy's medically related - ama 2009 850,000
90% percent had 5000k or more in medical expenses --- average out of pocket costs at time of bankruptcy 17K
Average bankruptcy 41k - median bankruptcy 16k
critics say medical problems small component of bankruptcy
truth: all debt must come under bankruptcy laws filing not just medical bills so even if someone was able to make the monthly payment for a credit card or other loans they would all have to fall under the bankruptcy umbrella --- plus illness and the inability to work is another overlooked factor
canadian medical bankruptcies are exceedingly rare... and they only exist because some people go outside the national network and purchase private supplemental insurance... otherwise when someone tells you that no canadian goes bankrupt because of medical bills they are very close to being right --- conservatives will often confuse the argument by adding those declaring bankruptcy because of illness & inability to work to the mix
EU can more rightly make the claim of near 0%
Social Security -----------
by gbuddha2012
social security... bedrock multi-risk insurance policy (guaranteed by the full faith & credit of the US government)
avg out of pocket cost 4k a yr
-- benefits including --
• seniors guaranteed retirement income coverage w/COLA avg family 22k per yr
• benefits for current workers & their families including early medicare
• home & work disability coverage & early death coverage
• dozens of select survivors benefits
including burial supplement
• medicare
• nursing home care coverage for low incomes/low assets/indigent
• minors w/disabilties coverage
• adult chidren w/disabilties coverage
• 20 trillion in life insurance protection ( more than all american insurance companies combined )
factoid: george bush war/tax deficit over 8yrs ($10T) was roughly the total amount taken in by social security since 1937 !
factoid: 45m people over 65 receive SS... 10m receive disability payments
factoid: 90% of the elderly were under the poverty line before social security... contrast that to only 10% today
factoid: ronald reagan raised taxes 7x during his administration... and the debt by 400%
------------------------------
10+ Ways the Rich Don't Pay Taxes
by gbuddha2012
• trusts --- thousands to choose from depending on the creativity of your lawyer these vehicles pass on inter-generational wealth with little or no taxes
• muni's --- zero federal & state taxes
• buy & hold stock strategies --- zero taxes until sold... may not generate any taxes on death depending on the size of the estate
• income from dividends & capital gains --- taxed at 15% maximum ( this makes up 95% of all income for those making $1 million or more )
• tax deductions --- tax codes have more than 100,000 to chose from
• annuities --- indefinite deferred taxation
• gifts --- receivers of gifts or (cash) pay no tax whatsoever, though the giver must file a form with the IRS
• life insurance --- policies that act as investment vehicles... taxation at death 0%
• set up a corporation, foundation, or hedge fund --- a good way to move money around and shelter assets
• gross-ups --- business term for high income salaries that already have the taxes built into them
• deferred pension --- CEO's and others in the business world having most if not all of their salaries converted tax free into company stock or an annuitized type product where taxes are paid on only when they are taken out years later --- many have a bypass mechanism that lets them pass it on to heirs with little or no taxes
• game the system --- buy the very politicians & governments that make tax policies
• cheat --- 2008 IRS study shows 43% of people making over $200k deliberately underestimate their incomes by 5-25%... people who already make very little in taxes wanting to pay nothing... prosecution rate low
• off shore tax havens --- another version of cheating
• cash, gold, silver, diamonds, guns, antiques, paintings etc --- physical items that fly under the IRS radar
How Much Do the Rich Pay In Taxes ?
by gbuddha2012
• all federal, state, & local taxes came to about $3.8 trillion (2009) --- top 2% paid less than 20%
• top 2% of americans pay less than 19% of these taxes even though they have over 2/3rds of all wealth... top 10% pay 59% of all taxes even though they have 90% of all wealth
• all corporations & businesses paid less than 16% of total including worker social security contributions --- effective federal tax rate 7%
• the remaining 2/3rds are paid by the rest of us
Income/Wealth Effective Tax Rate
gbuddha2012
• total taxes from income & wealth as percentage of all income & wealth combined
• individuals making $1 million+ pay on average between .1 to 1.1% in taxes on the income/wealth index
How Rich Are the Rich ?
by gbuddha2012
• top 1% --- 45% of all wealth
• top 2% --- 60% of all wealth
• top 5% --- 80% of all wealth
• top 10% -- 90% of all wealth
• top 25 hedge fund managers made over 1 billion each in 2009
• bottom 43 million people living under the poverty line
Total Wealth US Individuals, Corporations, & Government
• 200-300 Trillion
Marginal Consumption Rate
• MCR for top 2% americans is under 15%
• MCR for bottom 50% americans is
99-100%
• most americans need to use the majority or totality of their incomes
"10 Ways to Restore America's Economy"
by gbuddha2012
• make first $40k (ind), $60k (couple)
free of federal income tax
• raise highest tax bracket for those making $1M+ to 45%
• make estate tax effective @ 45% after $5M (ind), $10M (couple)
• establish a .25% transaction surcharge on the sale of all stocks bought by hedge funds, banks, and other financial institutions --- ie $1M sale or purchase would generate $2.5k surcharge
• lower capital gains for stocks or mutual funds held over 10 yrs to 10% or less
• establish yearly wealth tax on net worths over $5M @ .5% excluding home
• cap property taxes for primary homes valued @ 500k or less to 1%
assessed value
• establish an additional 1% Social Security & Medicare tax on incomes between $250k & $1M, 2% for $1M+
• raise Roth IRA & 401k max contributions to $10k a yr
• re-establish confidence in the financial sectors by re-introducing Glass-Seagal & the uptick rule
• put IRS agents in the boardrooms of America's 1000 largest corporations
• mandatory jail time for deliberate underreporting of income over $1M+
------------------------------
"10 Reasons Hedge Funds Should Be Banned"
by gbuddha2012
• opaqueness --- kabuki accounting as it's known ( now you see it, now you don't )
• derivative driven --- remember the housing bubble and the mortgages no one could figure out
• lack of inner or outside regulation ---self explanatory
• high leverage --- all or nothing mentality leaves society having to triage the casualties, when it's other peoples money you can just walk away
• top page disclosure --- think about it, all you file with the SEC is a yearly one page profit or lose statement, obscene
• unwarranted fees --- 5/20 and 2/20 fee schedules, the first number represents the yearly percentage fee on your account, the second the percentage they take on any profits
• illiquidity --- lack of secondary markets due to secrecy
• unfair advantage over mutual funds --- hedge funds are often used by investors to hide money, mutual funds make this much harder
• surrender of control --- the manager is king, you may have to wait months if not years to retrieve your money
------------------------------
answering loaded questions...
"social security is a ponzi scheme..."
answer: if that's the case so are insurance policies, the stock market, or any other kind of investment --- all these depend on additional people and additional money to bid up prices, social security is in fact more solid than all these three since it invests in treasury bills that are backed by the full faith & credit of the US government ( right now social security is sitting on 2.5 trillion in reserves & 20 trillion in life insurance )
"unions are thugs"
answer: no, unions are organizations of working people who bargain as a group for better pay and working conditions --- they are you're friends, neighbors, & family working in a variety of professions --- be grateful for their existence since they have set many of the standards that benefit all workers --- if you feel exploited by your workplace don't take it out on the unions, it's your boss that's the problem --- the next time you here someone say this tell them to go shove it
"america is broke"
answer: nonsense, america's total assets for individuals, corporations, & government was somewhere between 200-300 trillion at the end of 2008 --- america is by far the richest country in the world and nowhere near broke --- anyone telling you otherwise just doesn't know the facts
"the american government is broke"
answer: more nonsense, just because the US government has more total debt than the GDP has nothing to do with being broke or not --- the debt ratio is around 126% of GDP, not only has the US had higher debt ratios in the past - but some of the biggest most profitable corporations have debt ratios 2x, 5x, 10x that of the US --- a better alternative would be taxing the wealthiest americans who have had spectacular gains in income and wealth over the past decade --- america needs stimulus to grow and if the private sector can't stimulate demand then the public sector must be given the chance --- and then there is always the printing press
"governments don't create jobs"
answer: don't tell that to the 25M members of the miltary, teachers, fda inspectors, firemen, police, emt's, doctor's, nurses, postal workers, librarians, army corps of engineers, forest rangers, research scientists, nursing home workers, custodians of our national parks, NASA, road crews, sanitation workers, etc --- not only are these jobs, but they are jobs that provide vital services & infrastructure to this nation... they create far more wealth for a society than some hedge fund or the manufacturers of liquor or tobacco products --- next time before you speak, think
------------------------------
"Partial List of Companies Employing Union Labor"
FOOD INDUSTRY
• Heinz
• Campbell's
• Vlasic
• Oscar Mayer
• Hebrew National
• Van Kamps
• Boar's Head
• Eckrich
• Hormel
• HyVee Brands
• Birds Eye
• Green Giant
• Libbey's
• Kroger Brands
• Del Monte
• Prego
• Coke
• Hillshire Farms
• Hershey's
• Oreo's
• Kit Kat
source: UFCW
------------------------------
3 KEYS to ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• low interest rates
• access to capital
• infrastructure
------------------------------
- Pensions -
• when ronald reagan took office 50% of americans had a guaranteed private
pension plan... today 2011 it is only 7%
• less than 50% of american's have an Ira or 401k... more than 50% have
savings of 25k or less
