“Paying Taxes is a form of Patriotism” — anonymous
One chump, one geni
us
Both Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie said this week that Donald Trump is a genius for not paying taxes – if that’s accurate. We don’t know, because Donald, in an uncustomary departure from standard operating procedure for a candidate for the highest office in the land, won’t release his tax returns.
A story run in the New York Times a couple days ago reports that Donald reported losses of more than $916,000,000 on his 1995 tax returns, and then, legally, didn’t have to pay taxes for the next 18 years. It is believed that the year in question saw him lose such businesses as Trump Airlines, Trump University and a Trump Casino. The report appeared anonymously, and has not been confirmed as an accurate document.
Though unconfirmed, Donald has not denied the validity of the report. He did say, in his debate with Hilary Clinton, that if he’d paid not taxes, “that makes me smart, right?”
When Mitt Romney was running for president, Donald Trump called for Romney to release his tax statements. Romney did, eventually. It was shown that Romney paid at the 14% level, which concerned some Americans that found themselves less wealthy than Mitt, and yet were taxed at higher rates.
If Donald is a genius for paying no taxes, if the report is correct, then I’m a chump for paying taxes at all. I’m a thousandaire, not a millionaire, and certainly not a billionaire. I’ve been paying taxes since I started working. My wife and I file jointly, as we have since 1971, and now, as retirees, we pay taxes quarterly.
I don’t always like where my taxes are spent. I chafe more than a little at tax money going to pay for military chaplains, for example. But at least there were no chaplains in the United States Marine Corps. There were Navy ones assigned to help with the “spiritual needs” of Marines. Our leaders regularly mocked the chaplains, but there they were, drawing captain’s pay.
But we pay our taxes. By paying taxes, we must not be geniuses, or perhaps even smart. It would seem, from what Donald and his spokesmen suggest, we are chumps.
But I do think that the roads should be paved, that mail should be delivered, and that the men and women of the greatest military force should be paid. Meat should be inspected, national parks maintained, and air traffic controlled. Those fellows out west that thought that they needn’t pay taxes seemed more than a little nutty to me, at the time. But perhaps they were geniuses, like Donald Trump.
As a citizen of this country, as an American, I pay taxes.
Most of these concerns are speculative, of course. We don’t know why Donald won’t release his taxes, like every other candidate has done this year, and in years past. He whines that he’s under audit – as if that’s an excuse.
Mark Cuban, another billionaire, says he thinks Donald should not be ashamed of his tax filings, but should be bragging about what a genius he is. Cuban thinks Trump is hiding something. We don’t know, though, do we?
Where do you start to respond to such ignorance? Yes, it is true, the tax code allows you to take losses for years and offset any gains, essentially paying $0 in taxes. It is a legal deduction.
What about all the citizens that essentially pay no taxes because they either don’t work, or if they do, don’t make enough and get a refund or get an “earned income tax credit”. You know what that is don’t you? It is payment for not making enough but having kids in the home, essentially the government is allowing the tax filer recipient to get more than they ever paid in income taxes. It is a form of welfare without calling it that.
Shazaam – what a concept! The government better idea. Makes me feel good to know others pay nothing and I get the shaft every year.
If you don’t like the tax code, vote. If you don’t like our country getting screwed at every turn – vote. If you don’t like companies moving their factories to foreign countries – vote. You don’t like all the illegals coming in – vote. You are worried about future attacks on the U.S. by ISIS/ISIL or any other alphabet soup terror group – vote. You don’t like sending money overseas for extortion/ransom and/or foreign aid when so many here need help – vote. Are you sick and tired of this lousy no growth economy – vote.
Just don’t vote for Democrats or Establishment Republicans, because they are the ones that helped cause all this mess.
Free Market Man – I’ve read enough of your silly propaganda to recognize that you have far more ignorance than I.
As for voting, I’ve voted every election for which I was eligible. This year is no exception.
By the way, denying climate change? Seems rather ignorant. Calling a judge born in Indiana a Mexican? Ignorant. Not knowing Hawaii is part of the USA? Ignorant. For someone that seems to deplore ignorance, your bromance with Donald is more than a little surprising.
Wow, ignorance speaks. Must have hit a hot button!
Keep up the good work.