-You think a billionaire notices a missing dollar?

Are you or are you not arguing that billionaires are greedy psychos who have the audacity to limit their tax liability even when it's an insignificant amount of money they're saving? That they wouldn't notice the extra tax being taken so they should just pay it and STFU?

-You comparing me to a billionaire in order to shame me is hilarious

Are you or are you not arguing that billionaires are greedy psychos over money they could easily part with?

Could you not part with more money to the government?

I paid almost $100K in income and property taxes last year. I guess I should be happy it wasn't $105K and I sure as hell shouldn't try to pay $94K this year, right?

Of course I'm comparing you to a billionaire. Billionaires feel pain, feel joy, feel sadness and loss, don't want to get punched in the face nor get robbed. Hell, they even say please and thank you from time to time.

Does that sound anything like you?

"you think a $1000 to a billionaire is the same as $1000 to the poor."

To be clear, I don't think that.

I'm not some phony libertarian. I don't call for some flat tax or some national sales tax, VAT or whatever term is used to describe it.

I'm a supporter of an actual progressive tax system. I would like to see the wealthiest pay more of their higher incomes in a higher bracket and not avoid it with "carried interest" and other mechanisms that are legally available to them.

But that's not enough for you guys, is it?

I need to pledge that the mere existence of a billionaire is offensive and should be banned.....or something like that?

-Tax cuts for the middle class were just hush money peanuts to make them accept the much larger tax cuts for the rich

On top of getting half this country out of paying any income taxes (sans FICA of course), yes.

-Bill gates could by a billion sandwiches without feeling a financial pinch.

Of course, and he's a very charitable person or at least that's how a lot of people perceive him.

You think he's a greedy prick who isn't buying enough sandwiches. And your only argument for that is because he can afford to buy more.

He claims to have paid more than $10 billion in taxes and openly advocates for higher taxes on the wealthy.....but he's made moves to avoid paying billions and billions in estate taxes. Not sure how many sandwiches his foundation buys but he would rather not pay it to uncle sam, obviously.

The money he's not paying to uncle sam is starving kids right now.

To be clear, that's your argument?

-Didn't they also get a $600 tax rebate?

Oh, so you're excusing, perhaps even defending, the tax cuts for the wealthy because we also cut taxes on the middle class?

Maybe you need to rethink that angle.

One of the most brilliant tactics the GOP employed was to place as many folks possible outside the area of paying federal income taxes.

The democrats gladly went along with it but now we have a political environment where a significant portion of the middle class resents the hell out of lower income people paying no taxes while they receive medicaid, food stamps, free school lunches, EITC, etc.

This is how the GOP manages to lure millions of new voters into their camp from the other side because of this frustration. They blame this on the democratic party....which is bullshit because the GOP wanted this.

-And what's apparent to me is that you think a $1000 to a billionaire is the same as $1000 to the poor.

buying someone a $10 sandwich is the same whether or not you buy it or I buy it.....or if Bill Gates buys it.

-So, no, I personally did not feel guilty at all.

of course not. That was my point.

-What poor people were screwed to give me that $600?

uh oh...you're starting to show some intelligence, albeit short lived, I'm sure.

If you got to keep more money......that's money we could have used to feed someone. That's been your argument throughout this. The only difference it's your dollar.....not some billionaire's dollar.

I know....you must feel like a total greedy bastard, huh?

-People want our taxes to go to protecting us.

Not on election day. The folks who run things know that.

What's apparent to me is that you don't think a dollar that a billionaire gets to keep is different than a dollar you get to keep.

Either way, it's a dollar you are going to keep so the poor person who needs a sandwich can go without.

And when you get to keep that extra dollar, you don't say to yourself, "but damn....that poor kid who needs fed. I just fucked him over"

Of course you don't. You just assume the government will find that dollar elsewhere. You just pay your taxes and go on about your business. Take that dollar you stole from the poor kid and go buy a soda or put it in your Roth IRA, etc.

You're not going to feel guilty about it. What makes you think a billionaire would feel bad or that they should feel bad?

"jurisdictional arbitrage for tax purposes."

I think I know what you mean by that but if you could clarify it I'd appreciate it.

-So you think billionaires are actually stupid, and don't realize that cutting social services to fund tax cuts for the rich hurts people?

No, they think the taxes they still pay provide the social services.

When you got a $600 tax rebate during COVID did you feel bad about the poor person you screwed?

Of course not. Why would anyone else?

"no matter what harm has to befall others in order for them to achieve it?"

Everyone in society is trying to make more money, increase their net worth.

Very few of them believe they are hurting others to do it.

Accuse them of what you want but they don't believe they're hurting people. They pay taxes , give to charity, they employ lots of people, represent a big part of the economy.

Nobody who gets to keep a little bit more or make more doesn't think it was taken from someone else.

-I can name some (without speaking for them) that are AGAINST tax cuts for the wealthy.

Fair enough but you're trying to understand why a billionaire wants a tax cut but you can't actually point to a billionaire who you know wants a tax cut.

I'm not sure tax rates are that important to billionaires when compared to the other issues that matter to them. They are so unimportant to some they actually oppose the tax cuts, as you pointed out.

Regulations, Environment, Foreign government relationships, infrastructure, investment returns, financing, etc.....

But they were given the tax cuts so they must matter somehow.

To be clear, I don't think cutting food stamps solves any problems. It just creates more.

-Why do billionaires need tax cuts funded by taking food from poor kids?

They don't. They want the tax cuts. Everybody wants a tax cut. I want one. You want one.

-Said no child nowhere on earth ever.

I agree. I'm not sure domestic terrorism is related to this issue but I don't know really.

How many domestic terrorists did we create with the Great Depression?

The difference here is that people today expect a free lunch.