Any tax hike during these hard times will end up costing working class Americans their jobs. The author of this article has an attitude like the rich can afford to pay. They can afford to pay by cutting jobs.

People don't seem to understand that actual 'rich people' contribute significantly to the economy and to the middle and lower classes (as opposed to 'Obama rich' which is anyone making more than $75k). Raising taxes on the rich has the same impact as Obama's plan to limit executive pay. Obama wants to limit executive pay so these people making $60 million a year make less. But these same people bring hundreds of billions of dollars to the market each year. 'The market' is the 401k's, pension plans and savings of the middle and lower classes.

Make they 'high paying' executive jobs go away and all of the value they bring goes away. They get paid that much because they bring that much value. I think they are underpaid (when is the last time the author of this story brought a few billion dollars to the marketplace), but that's just one person's opinion.

Liberals don't get that. Capital is on strike in this country. Productive people are going to simply do other things and let the liberals and Obama figure out how to provide for everybody.

Good luck with that Obama!

This is not a good thing. Raising taxes on those in the higher income brackets does not translate into anything positive for those of us in the lower income brackets. Your placing a greater burden on them which will be passed down in either higher costs for products/ services or, as Stan mentioned, cutting jobs. Try using your brain Harriet.

Anyone with half a brain knows there will be enough tax loopholes that only the truly stupid will pay more in taxes.

So again those who are successful and achieve will be penalized in order to support the underachievers.

Why does Obama get to tell me what "rich" is? Isn't that 100% against "the American Dream"?
keep drinking the cool-ade America. Just don't dream without asking Obama what's reasonable.

Why does Obama get to tell me what "rich" is? Isn't that 100% against "the American Dream"?
keep drinking the cool-ade America. Just don't dream without asking Obama what's reasonable.

Harriet, who wrote this article is a fool. Six years ago Bush lowerd the capitail gains tax, that high rate was not under him for long. Any tax hike during such hard times will cost us all plenty. If you have any doubt just look at the market since Obama came in. Its been down down down because people with money are smarter than Harriet, and can see were Obama is going, and they dont like it. I always hear people like her say republicains want to help rich people stay rich because that is their voting block , then it stands to reason that Democrats want to keep poor people poor, because if they become rich, they lose their voting block.

Class envy rears its ugly head. Instead of aspiring to attain wealth by using their own efforts, the subscribers to the philosophy of the Democrat Party just want to equalize the output by taking down society's successful.

Barak "Karl Marx" Obama is living up to his history - which his supporters either didn't knor or care to know.

The example set by the failed USSR clearly is a lesson lost.

As for the Capital Gains ... the Congress will make the capital gains rate change effective as of January 1, 2009.

Too bad - the author doesn't know beans ...Wayne will pay 5% more .... still a good deal for him.

More than 80 percent of all capital gains income went to those making more than $200,000 a year in 2007. Very few making under $75,000 would be affected by any increase in the top capital gains rate.Just under 13 percent of all who filed tax returns for 2007 reported any capital gains income, however small. That means that raising capital gains tax rates could not affect 87 percent of all filers, since they have no gains income to tax. (Capital gains are the profits realized from the sale of such assets as stocks or real estate.)

Never before has the pain of a bear market in stocks been spread as broadly in the United States as this one has, a fact that has intensified the economic impact of the collapse in share prices that began in late 2007.

But while the pain of the bear market has been spread widely, the tax benefits of stock ownership have become more concentrated among the wealthy.

That seeming paradox stems from the differing treatment of profits on capital gains, depending on whether the stock or other asset is held in a taxable account or a retirement account.

Most Americans hold stocks, and stock mutual funds, in their retirement accounts, principally in 401(k) accounts. Those accounts are not taxed until the money is taken out, usually after retirement.
But then, the money is fully taxed at ordinary income tax rates, regardless of whether or not it came from capital gains.

As a result, the reduction of the tax rate on long-term capital gains to 15 percent in 2003, and the accompanying reduction of the tax on most dividends to the same amount, provided no additional benefits to most Americans. But it produced substantial benefits for those who owned stocks in taxable accounts.

THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR MANY MANY AMERICANS. THIS WILL NOT DETOUR ECONOMIC OR CAPITAL GROWTH, AND IT IS PAINFULL TO READ ALL OF YOUR LOPSIDED OPINIONS ON THIS MATTER!

What makes me cringe are the rich who are honest taxpayers, get a glimpse of guys like our Treasurer Gaither who get to dodge paying taxes as well as other would be cabinet members (Daschle, etc.) Their solution is they just pay it back. But guys like Wesley Snipes (who by no stretch of the imagination) gets to go to jail for tax evasion.

Also, I question the threshold. What determines $250k is rich? Are you telling me a person who lives in California or New York making $250k is richer then the guy in Montana, making $250k? Think about it...

Everyone's comments are great especially coming from south Florida which is dominated but crazy left liberals. I actually thought I was the only one who feels this way. Everyone please keep the comments going.

If taxes go up, people lose jobs, simple as that. I guess all the liberals want to work for the government which is why they want to expand it.

Keep the government small as possible and as a trader please please keep capital gains to a minimum.

GOP, capitalist for life.

As a side note if the government came out and said no one has to pay income tax in 2009, it would only cost the government close to 650 Billion, and the market would go crazy. Corporations would hire, hire, hire.

Boy does Obama and his crazy crew have it all wrong.

Same old story tax tax tax instead of cut cut cut. Socialism is coming on like a freight train.

!Stan, so the rich are going to fire the employees just to make up for the tax increase on their personnal income, hmmm sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face, Brilliant!

So what about a family with 3 children making more than 250K? So they are termed "rich" and thus taxed heavily. This is going to not only hurt the common family, but also business's as well. Stalin, I mean Obama, has our country turning into a socilaist state. I bet the founders of this country are rolling in there graves.

I'm surprised (and pleased) the cap gains only went to 20%. Smart money was on it being 28%. If that's what Harry-yet predicted, then kudos.

The tax increases are a triple whammy for anyone who has worked hard and sacrificed to become a success in this country. It's not just the resetting of the 36% and 39.6% tax brackets either. There is a severe cut to personal exemptions and to all itemized deductions for the "wealthy". It's counterproductive. And, the revenue "estimates" from these increases always fall short, so more tax hikes will be on the way.

Just wait until the Chosen One decides to "fix" social security. The foolish idea of removing the FICA cap or creating his 'donut hole' will further kill small businesses. Add to that, the very real possibility that Congress will make all S corp earnings subject to self employment tax, and it's game over for small businesses.

Oh well, at least the bloated government will be there to take care of us all.

The middle class have suffered long enough! I don't know to to classify what "rich" is, but I'm tired of listening to what Limbaugh, Hannity and the rest of the FOX News have to say. You guys had your 8 years and screwed this country up. Let us try to fix it. I'm all for bipartisanship, but stop acting like you guys know what's best!!! If you did, we wouldn't be in this situation. When we bail out the big dogs, it's capitalism...help out the middle class and your a socialist.

I am reading these comments and most of these people are just plain not thinking. First of all they are blaming Obama for all the problems which have been building during the last eight years under Bush and the Republicans. It was the Republican policies and dogma that has gotten us into this situation. All the middle class people that think pandering to the rich and super rich is something to be proud of. I have been in financial planning for over 19 years, and many of my clients are very wealthy. Most of them are not worried about paying 4% more in taxes. They just want the economy to improve so they will have income to pay taxes on. Moving the CG rate up by 5% is not going to make anyone stop investing. All the pundits keep saying that raising taxes will stop investments. Thats alot of BS. If you lower taxes, then when the president of a large corp makes $50 million or more a year, he isnt going to say lets start hiring more people. He is just going to stuff more in his pocket. What has gotten us where we are is GREED, and lack of rules and regulations. IF this country collapses, it will be due to the GREED of Capitalism and lack of oversight. To say we need less regulation is to turn a blind eye to how we got in this situation. Now that we have to clean up the mess, the Republicans keep telling us that Obama is the problem. No the last 8 years have been the problem, they just dont want to own up to it.

Big question: If Obama is not the present problem, why is it that every time he gives a speech the stock market goes further down. Think about this, all he did was put the Clinton staff back in power without Bill.

Glad I no longer pay for this class warfare newspaper

Glad I no longer pay for this class warfare newspaper

Glad I no longer pay for this class warfare newspaper

A letter from the Boss:

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of
this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy
has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the
good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What
does threaten your job, however, is the changing political landscape in
this country.

Let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide
what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is
a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by
what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've
seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure; all these
flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don 't see is the BACK STORY :

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300
square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire studio apartment
was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into
building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent
went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I
stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and
partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work,
discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a
modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy
cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes.
Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I
was trolling through the discount stores for clothing that didn't look
like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages
and lived a life of luxury. I did not. I put my time, my money, and my
life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too,
would be able to afford the luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9 am, mentally check in
at about noon, and then leave at 5 pm, I don't. There is no "off" button
for me. When you leave the office, you are done and have a weekend all
to yourself. I do not have that freedom. I eat and breathe this company
every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is
no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a one-
year-old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of
that labor -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never
realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right
decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who
didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled
to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has it's benefits but the price I've paid is steep
and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this
business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of
marginal benefit. Let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough.
I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and Use taxes.
Payroll taxes. Workers Compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on
taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and guess
what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and
regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of
my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000
for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada.
Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy
who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000
people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother at
home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check?
Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this
country.

The fact is, if I deducted (read: stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit
and wouldn't work here. And why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to
get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why
your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand: To stimulate the economy, you
need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had government suddenly
mandated that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of
depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have
spent it hiring more employees and generating substantial economic
growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in
the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't
defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to
life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the
heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate
it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the
poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic
engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of
"change" you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be
swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead
with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's
future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and
retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the
productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to
provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy. It
will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this
country, steam-rolled the Constitution, and changed its landscape
forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired
with no employees to worry about.

Signed,

THE BOSS

This is where the country is headed, and you will never convince me otherwise. We are on the verge of less than 50% of the population paying taxes. Once we cross that threshold, there is no turning back, and the Dems know it. The tax paying minority will support the non paying majority. Add the strong possibility of 20 million illegal immigrants being given citizens status, and the Dems are in control for life (or I should say until the country collapses).

BRAVO Kevin. I hope that Mark and Mike and smarter than stan all work for "THE BOSS" The top 1% of earners pay 40% of the taxes. If the government confiscated ALL the EARNINGS of the top 5% of earners it still would NOT come close to the Budget Deficit Obama just sent to Congress. But he says he is going to cut the deficit in half at the end of his four years. Well simple math tells you that half of 1.75 TRILLION is an increase of 400 Billion over what the deficits have been for the past years. Heil the USSA.

The government should allow taxpayers with incomes under 250,000 to use all capital losses as if they were ordinary losses in 2009. The present limitation does not do much for the average taxpayer and creating this temporary deduction actually will put some money into the pockets of those not really getting anything from the various bailouts.

You know what the funny thing is....Everyone is talking about how Obama is giving this away and the country is going in the toliet...what would the Republicans bedoing now if they had won...they would let everyone lose their homes? Give big tax breaks in hope of job creation? Come on! Let's be realistic about what is happening.

I loved the post, A letter from the boss. It hit home hard. It was almost identical to my life. I could add much more to this story. The frustration the day to day fear that your accountant makes a mistake on your taxes and now you land in jail. Interpretation of laws and regulations that you think you know but now they are being judged differently by the gov. There is not one day that I go to bed without fear that i've made a mistake that could take my life forever. I am tired at 53 yrs old. I wonder why I even did it. Why didn't I take the easy road by working for someone else? I look back and ask myself, was it all worth this? I say NO. Yes I have the cars, the boat, the rv and the gorgeous home I always dreamed of. I also have the taxes, the prop taxes and insurances that are more than most make in two years. I also have a lack of sleep that keeps me exhausted on a daily basis. I am responsible for so many peoples lives that I keep doing it because along with my worry is the people that I pay. What happens to them? Probably the same people who curse my success. I am to the point now that I also feel like closing up, selling everything and driving off in to the wild blue yonder in some other country where I can sleep with no fear. America has become an absolute nightmare. It is the rich against the poor that we have been taught. Obama encouraged the hate. I often said, if we give up and throw in the towel where does that leave you? Can the Gov. generate enough jobs to take care of everyone? I think not. What about millions of illegals that have helped to destroy this country? There never was a gang in a city when I was a youngster, now we are flooded with them. WE have asian gangs, russian gangs, mexican gangs, puerto rican gangs and on and on. NO one is safe anymore. Your children cannot even go outside and play. At 5 yrs old I walked a mile to my grandmoters house without fear. Did that several times a week. Your kid could never dream those types of freedoms today. How sad is that? I don't like the way my country looks and feels anymore. I don't feel safe here. My entire neighborhood, every house on my street has been robbed during broad daylight. They use blow torches to cut iron doors with cameras looking right at them and do not care. I have to have brinks security, a gun, a doberman, security cameras all over my house to keep me safe. We don't even think anything about it anymore because it is normal. When I was a child you left the keys in the car and your home door never locked. You didn't dream that anyone would ever hurt or rob you. Please tell me what happened? It is not this way in other countries, why ours? To end my letter, I understand the Boss's letter as if it was mine. American people need to understand what is happening and stand up before it is to late.

The article is about Wayne. Harriet do the simple math multiply the gain by 5% and that is what he saved in taxes so lets say the gain was 500mil thats a tax savings of 25,000,000.

So did it double no but I think you get the point he was trying to make. I can think of 25mil points. Stop worring about everybody elses money and focus on your own.

First and foremost WE all pay the same tax rates. For those with earned net income, after all deductions and such, in excess of $200/250K will still have a tax rate that is 25% less than what they paid in 1980. WE all need to contribute to what it cost to run this county, including the higher income brakets. Stop complaining.

First and foremost WE all pay the same tax rates. For those with earned net income, after all deductions and such, in excess of $200/250K will still have a tax rate that is 25% less than what they paid in 1980. WE all need to contribute to what it cost to run this county, including the higher income brakets. Stop complaining.

Newsflash, Mike and Mark, you guys keep saying the Republicans fault for the last 8 years (which by the way the first 5 years economically were great and I don't remember you bozo's complaining then), but think about it, the housing crisis was caused by the private sector (banks), and your boy Bill Clinton who tried to ease the standards of home ownership. Now I'm not trying to say people don't have a right to own a home, but there should have been the rules that have always been there, that it should only be people who can afford it and are responsible.

We all pay the same tax rates, what are you on? Do you realize there is a large population of Americans who pay no tax at all?

You cant speak logically to a person such as the one that wrote this article, so please don't try. Harriet, the writer is an ideologue, such as the followers of Chavez and Castro. They are far to blind by their ideology to even realize that their country has collapsed from their doing, now they have no job, and their own future is bleak. It is bleak because instead of working hard, and having hope of advancement and a better life, they have assured no advancement for themselves and their children, through their own misguided political beliefs, envy's and prejudice. They are keep down by the very people they worship at the level of a deity . I know first hand how under these false Gods people are categorized, and placed in a slot on a shelf, to never be more than what they have been reduced to by their false Gods. They must abandon all hope of a better life, and the fine feeling of a mans natural and healthy craving for achievement, and a better life. When you take away peoples right to achieve and better themselves, you take away their God giving right to the pursuit of happiness, as they themselves seem fit. Not how some government entity or Harriet sees as fit. Ideologues such as this have blinders on, and have two objectives. One objective is to steal your money from you, and retain it for themselves. And the other is to bring anyone that worked hard, and did the right thing all their life down to size. They think by making achievers small, they themselves would feel bigger. But the Harriet's of this world are way to small to bring anyone down to her size. This is because someone with real values, and real virtue, no matter how rich or how poor, will always make Harriet feel small. This is because she is of small mind, and a petty nature. When a mugger takes your money under a threat, it is considered a crime, when a government takes your money under a threat, to give to the very same mugger, people like Harriet call it compassion.

Dee and The Boss:
Your words are my words and I feel we are on a downward spiral where there is no turning back.
I own a Medical office with 50 employees and just laid off 5 of them due to the ever increasing tax burden. I have a 3 year plan to close the office and put the rest out of work. Yes I feel bad for them but it just not worth the stresses anymore.
I know of 2 other physicians in their 40's and 50's that are closing up and leaving this country because the dream is gone.