Paying Their Fair Share

It's a myth!

Remember that old saw about everybody paying their fair share, with the rich paying more? Translated today, "You can't tax the rich!" "They're already paying too much!" "If you do that, they'll move away!" "They won't be able to create jobs!"

"Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year."

According to a report in Propublica, the rich are not paying their fair share. In many cases, they are paying nothing.

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing.

by Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen and Paul Kiel

 

June 8, 5 a.m. EDT

 It's nothing new. Lower taxes, and no taxes, for the rich has been going on since colonial times. Taxes were seen as unfair to the slave holders. They were considered bad for business. They still are.

Not Like Us

Are corporations people? The Supreme Court seem to think so. You know what? The court might be right. They act like the 1%. That's because they are controled by the 1% and make the 1% very rich. Their greed excludes the greater good. Well guess what happens when the rest of us can no longer can buy the junk their making?

That Battle Within

Appealing To Your Better Self

For most of us there's a struggle between generosity of spirit, and selfishness and greed. Many of us succumb to the idea that somehow we're more deserving than others which lead to a crisis of justice. Unjust can be defined as not behaving according to what is morally right and fair. The opposite can be found in the second half of the Golden Rule, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself. It means all your neighbors. Which leads to an awareness that there is something bigger than me.

I looked up Social Justice. Those who seem to scoff at the concept of the greater good implied in the Golden Rule tend to use Social Justice as a pejorative. I looked up Social Justice and found this, "Social justice is a concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity and social privileges."

It's okay to struggle with this concept. Hopefully, your better self wins. I found this quote which seems to put the struggle into perspective.

“A fight is going on inside me,” said an old man to his son. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The same fight is going on inside you.”

The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, “Which wolf will win?”

The old man replied simply, “The one you feed.” — Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Which one are you feeding?