That’s great that your family still does all that stuff themselves. By your comment, do you disapprove of your neighbor’s for hiring folks to do it? I’m sure the folks they hire are happy to have the work and the paycheck. And the idea that when you made more money you would have been happy to pay higher taxes ‘to help out’ is pretty silly. You want to help out? Keep those dollars you’d normally willingly give the wasteful bureaucracy and SPEND it so some other dude can make a living, not wait for a government handout.

You sir, said it better than I could ever have, and I too, when I’m home with my parents, still do all of those things that you state in your last paragraph. AND I ENJOY IT!!!!!

I say a progressive tax for people married or single making less than $75,000 and a flat tax for married or single over $75,000 works for me. I am a blue collar man who can barely afford gas to get to work, here in Detroit we have lousy public transportation,I do the grocery shopping and see the prices go up daily in some instances with fresh friut and veggies.A progressive tax will help people like me who live pay check to pay check.Blue collar America has shouldered the bulk of the tax load for this country since Reaganomics took hold shoved aside the anti- trust laws and his trickle down economics that has kept my wages stagnating for almost 30 years and don`t forget the Glass – Steagal Act which helped get this country into it`s finest mortgage crisis since the depression.old man johnny`s tax cuts for the wealthy will only keep blue collar people and lower income people footing the bill for the rich and powerful and i am sick and tired of it. A vote for the old man is a one vote closer to the POOR HOUSE. Vote for Obama in November.

I am 100% with you and completely understand your situation, as I grew up in similar circumstances in a not to dissimilar area (the Ohio River Valley). I’m not saying I should have a tax break; I know that there are far too many out there that need them more than I. But please, don’t raise them anymore. Save that for my boss, and his boss, and his boss. You know, the ones you read about in the Wall Street Journal.

I $ 200 k isn’t that much, can I look forward to a raise in the minimum wage ?

This is just mean, but you know what, f it:

Maybe if you educate yourself a little more (and yes, right now, it’s on you, so take some f-ing initiative), you’ll earn more than the minimum wage, and won’t have to worry about raising it.

Also, I just re-read my passage from above, and it was pretty damn good for being as drunk as I am.
This is where the progressive agenda goes awry….

There’s plenty of housing just a subway ride away from the Metropolitain Museum of Art that are eminently affordable, on pleasant tree-lined streets. Forest Hills is quite delightful.

PBG, I don’t disagree with you at all.

Firstly, if I lived on the Upper West Side, I’d be saving a lot more money than I am, but I guess I only have myself to blame for that.

Second, I work far too hard and too long, to commute that far in the morning. The last thing I want to do when I leave my office in the middle of summer at 2 am, is wait for a subway train (or take a limo service), 30+ mins to my place where when I need to be back at 8 am. Convenience comes at a price.

I’m not complaining here, all I’m saying is, I work far too hard for my 200k and am already taxed at nearly 50% to support the welfare state (which I believe in), that I can’t afford to spend anymore. At this point, I’d like to have a little more.

And to all those above and you as well (i think, I’m kinda drunk, ok, really drunk), I’m going back to my earlier point, b/c I’ve stayed away from it for far too long. But you know what, I’ve always tested in the top 95% – 99% of any standardized test I’ve taken, and I’m, as ALMOST ALL OF YOU AGREE, in the top 6% of earners in this country. Can you seriously believe that that there is no correlation there?? Are you f-ing kidding me?

All I am saying is, tax me more when I F-ING MAKE MORE!!! Stop taking half of my money when I’m only in my early 20s. That’s the point that all of you have seem to have forgotten. When the day comes (and I surely hope it will) when I make $10+ million a year, you can have half of it. All I am saying is (and as Jay-Z so eloquently put it), CAN I LIVE?

Please, for the love of god, let me enjoy my early years, b/c they’ll soon be gone.

Drunk me, signing off….

The fact that almost 97% of Americans make do with less — most A LOT less, makes a mockery of that claim that $200k a year is not rich.

If you make $200k a year, and you think you’re not rich, maybe you ought to reconsider the state of this nation’s wealth, since half of the population lives on less than one-fourth of that amount.

To say that 200,00 isn’t rich is …..elitist.

I’ll say it again, making $200,000 isn’t rich in NEW YORK CITY. What about if you’re a single 24 year old male making $200,000?

Fine, I guess I’m an elitist. Since, you know, I realize that I’ve been blessed and actually do what I can to give back. So be it for me, it’s in the form of donations to any number of charities and causes I believe in rather than donating the precious little free time I have. (Today is an exception, since I’m not that busy at work, and can’t leave yet).

You gross $16K a month and can’t afford $3K for rent?

That $16K gross, is about $7K net of taxes. So, after rent, 401K contributions, insurance, savings deposits, school loan payments and living expenses, it really doesn’t leave that much.

Second, I didn’t say I was poor, I merely stated that I’m not rich. I’m making do. My standard of living is great, but I’d like to be better sound financially than I am currently. Isn’t that what we’re all actually trying to do?

To say that 200,00 isn’t rich is …..elitist.

First, JMOHR, thank you for seeing past my inflammtory comments and pointing out that there is an arguement in there somewhere.

To McWars, there is no stirring the pot here. This is a my opinion, and I consider myself a staunch progressive. Secondly, I wasn’t supporting McCain. I was pointing out that simple blanket statements taken to either extreme for the sole purpose of discrediting your opponent accomplish nothing. This should be about solutions, not inane discourse.

I truly believe taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society (which is actually something said by one of the greatest republicancs ever). I also believe that free, quality education and healthcare is the birthright of everyone. However, these are all ideals, that need to be achieved in reality in which we live.

And to do so, we need to understand that the needs of people in certain parts of the country are far different. My $200K seems pretty meager to me, as someone elses $50K in Indianapolis is to him. But instead (and this is a critique of everyone across the spectrum), you take one comment from a man and explode on vitriolic diatribe without once condsidering he might be right about some people (This is about McCain, not me. My words are meaningless).

ap

(I don’t have spellcheck, so please excuse the errors)

If you make $200,000 in the Bay Area near San Francisco you’re NOT rich.

Everything is relative. My friend makes very good money, but is always broke (Porsche 911, Ferrari Mondial, H3 Hummer, lots of vacations, etc…) My other friend does not do as well, but always has a few extra dollars to spend. We can either be frugal or not. Believe me, I could make do on $200k a year, no matter where I would live. You could too.

“Making do” is not rich. I’m doing fine and I’m not complaning, I live in a 2 bedroom 1 bath house that’s been apraised at $1,200,000. That’s Marin county not Kansas City.