Isn't it time for parents to stop raising idiots?

[Push]

Do most Canadians want to tax the crap oot of the wealthy? Members of our Congress use that as a battle cry, even though many of them are very wealthy- they talk about the wealthy as if it's a different group of people.

I'm personally a huge fan of the idea of a flat tax rate for all, perhaps exemption for very low income (but I'd have to think about it). 17% is a commonly bandied about number. No tax deductions, no sales taxes, just 17% of your income goes away. Get rid of the massive infrastructure we have for auditing. Free up some money for the education system. Smaller class sizes, better paid teachers.

 

[highfigh]

I'm personally a huge fan of the idea of a flat tax rate for all, perhaps exemption for very low income (but I'd have to think about it). 17% is a commonly bandied about number. No tax deductions, no sales taxes, just 17% of your income goes away. Get rid of the massive infrastructure we have for auditing. Free up some money for the education system. Smaller class sizes, better paid teachers.

What would yo udo for people who have expenses related to work, such as long drives/vehicle expenses, but they don't own a business? Compared with people who ride on mass transit, they're screwed and it's not just low income people who use mass transit.

I would like government to run more as if it's a business, with the general public/taxpayers seen as the shareholders. Make balancing the budget mandatory and if they don't, they need to provide acceptable explanations why. If they don't perform, they can be fired, just like in the private sector- no extra safety & job security, no extra benefits, just the possibility of advancement through merit.

The Federal government pisses away so much money and they have no personal accountability for it- that needs to end.

You need to look at the amount of money for education is wasted- some cities (like in the metropolitan area where I live) pisses away money like it's confetti and now, some are calling for the firing of the superintendent & members of the school board. The budget for this year was $1.35 Billion, for about 78,000 students and the district chronically under-performs.

 

[Dude#1279435]

I disagree. I think you'd find a substantial majority of families would love to be able to keep one parent at home, while the other worked, if it were financially possible. Doesn't matter which one.

I'm in Canada, so I can't comment on US tax burden, but our tax burden from lower middle class and up is effing rediculous. I'm not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination, plain old middle class, and my burden of tax last year, according to my accountant, was 56%. Thats all taxes: carbon, income, municipal, sales, E&H, ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Its damned rediculous, and its one of the primary reasons why both parents have to work just for basic needs, much less to have any other kind of "excess".

I think many would too, but my problem is men who don't ask the woman what she wants. I knew a guy who ask his wife what she wanted, and she wanted to stay home. But he asked her. On the other end of the spectrum is Dennis Prager who basically said women shouldn't be pursuing careers and should be worrying only about having kids. Having said that, I'm not exactly the right person to ask about this since I don't have kids.

 

[Dude#1279435]

I think you're probably right though. Work/parent balance doesn't really work, especially the early years of the child.

 

[panteragstk]

I think you're probably right though. Work/parent balance doesn't really work, especially the early years of the child.

So people get to choose between feeding their children or raising them?

 

[Dude#1279435]

So people get to choose between feeding their children or raising them?

Both. However they choose to decide. If that answers it.

 

[Push]

What would yo udo for people who have expenses related to work, such as long drives/vehicle expenses, but they don't own a business? Compared with people who ride on mass transit, they're screwed and it's not just low income people who use mass transit.

Nothing. No write offs, no goofing around. I dunno about Ontario or other provinces, but in Saskatchewan, we don't have travel write offs for non-business owners anyway. So run $X free of tax, Y% on the rest. Fair for everyone. Everyone gets the same exempt amount, everyone pays the same percent. If you choose to work far from home, or don't have mass transit, you're free to negotiate with your employer or change positions. I live on my families farm, which is a fair hike from town, but that's my choice.

But I agree with the idea of hiring people to run the country, with proper transparency. The waste is staggering in this country. Drop the waste, drop the tax, reduce the stresses on societyand you may actually see our communities flourish, including our children.

Rod

 

[shadyJ]

I have only read the title of this thread and barely even skimmed the original post, and I'll be damned if I read any of the replies which I imagine are a bunch of old men complaining about the kids these days, but to answer the title of this thread, I will say NO, it is absolutely not the time for parents to stop raising idiots. In fact, I think we should double the output of idiots, because, if anything, we need more idiots!

 

[Trell]

I have only read the title of this thread and barely even skimmed the original post, and I'll be damned if I read any of the replies which I imagine are a bunch of old men complaining about the kids these days, but to answer the title of this thread, I will say NO, it is absolutely not the time for parents to stop raising idiots. In fact, I think we should double the output of idiots, because, if anything, we need more idiots!

Some of them pine for the good old days when men where the bread winners, woman stayed at home, children went to Sunday school and you could punish children by beating them. At that time there was no such thing as rape in a marriage either.

Since then everything has gone downhill.