Adam Smith: The Wealth of Natioons

Quote from Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations but brought to my attention by The New York

"The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. . . . The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. . . . It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion."

Adam Smith

Capitalism, in order to work, needs a middle class that is functional and has significant wealth. No middle class means uprisings, war, and no capitalism for anyone. To steal from that middle class to feed the upper class, over the long term, benefits no one. To truly be wealthy, in this garden of existence, you need to be surrounded by a healthy field of flowers if you want to be the beautiful red rose.

I hate paying taxes, but I love that I have the opportunity to. Right now the system is out of sync and paying taxes to a central government that is foolish with the money is the true issue, not paying of taxes itself. When WE, THE PEOPLE, choose to educate ourselves and vote appropriately, only then can WE, THE PEOPLE, fix things.

Flat Tax in the US?

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/Advice/YourRealTaxRate40.aspx

"In a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston University economists Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David Rapson have found that our all-in marginal tax rate is 40%, give or take a bit. Yes, you read that right: 40%."


I don't mind paying taxes. The infrastructure that is needed in order for myself to benefit from the people in general is an important investment. I do mind stupidity and special interests dictating where my money is. I do actually think a flat tax might be a good idea. As long as we remove all of the write offs that are given to everyone and as long as we create a special bracket for those who are in poverty or near poverty. And lastly, we would have to create a special bracket for single mothers living in poverty or near poverty.