Why does the left continute to insist that the "rich" stuff their money in a mattress?

The socialist "compassionate" income redistribution schemes appear to rest on a fallacy: That the "rich" take all of those ill-gotten gains and stuff them in a mattress, never to be seen again. I guess the thought is that when you take from the "rich" and give to the "disenfranchised" they will then go on a big spending spree and we will all live in socialist tall cotton. This is nonsense, the evil "rich" do evil stuff like investing their stolen booty in new companies that employ people, shopping centers that employ people to build and work in, lend money to start up businesses, stuff like that. The whole socialist philosophy rests on a set of givens that are complete nonsense.

Liberals just feel sorry for the unmarried mother who stupidly had 4 kids with a father who ran away, and now she's 19 and working @ Burger King. They take responsibility off of the individual.

There is some truth in this, although the methods have changed slightly since the early 1900s.

Nowadays, rich people tend to 'invest' their money offshore, in tax havens, such as the Caymans, or in Swiss Bank Accounts.

So, there is an element of truth to the allegations, but then again, perhaps this is justified.

I don't know about the situation in the USA, but in the UK, where I am from, there appears to be no incentive to work.

If you don't work and instead choose to live on benefits (Welfare), then you get free medical prescriptions, free eye tests, denistry, etc.

If you choose to work hard, then you get taxed at a high rate, including many unjust taxes (inheritance tax, stamp duty), and spend all of your working life subsidising those on benefits.

I am not blaming the people on benefits, as I can understand why they do it, they simply take the easiest option (fair enough), but I think that the system is wrong for promoting this attitude

Regards, Citi

Read up a little on the taxes the extremely wealthy have been avoiding by receiving mail at a PO box in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas. They send their money to shell corporations there because those places have permissive treaties with the US, lax oversight, and no real rights or protections for shareholders.

Some rich people invest in the ways you mention, and many also take their money out of circulation and sock it away untaxed overseas.

That must be why there's only 3.3% paid by the lower 50% bracket....

Percentiles Ranked by AGI
AGI Threshold on Percentiles
Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Threshold %
Top 1% $328,049 36.89

Top 5% $137,056 57.13
Top 10% $99,112 8.19

Top 25% $60,041 84.86

Top 50% $30,122 96.70

Bottom 50% <$30,122 3.30

Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service

Wa wa wa ........ rich steal Tax Payer money ........... wa wa.

Simple !!!! Taxes, taxes,taxes........... If the Democrsats can drive this wealth envy into to the heads of the American people, not only does the government seem to inherit more power over the people they get to raise taxes..... Of course NO one mentions Incomes are up, Corporate profits are up, unemployment is down ( much of this is driven by tax cuts.) and the federal budget deficit ,through May of 2007, is down 34.6 percent from the same period a year ago, now totaling about $148.5 billion. Or the fact that when the 16th Amendment (income tax) was being sold to the American people the proponents of a new federal income tax needed a way to get people to ask their states for ratification. The people were told that only rich Americans would ever have to pay the income tax and non-rich would reap the benefits of all of this new federal spending without having to pay a part of the tab. Only the evil rich would be hit. The 16th Amendment passed....... Now who's paying..... All of us...