Economic Shit

he current economic climate has been on my mind lately. I've been paying attention to the news more now than I ever have in my life, so obviously, the economy is on a lot of people's minds and its being spoken about frequently. And, I know I've said before that I would make an attempt to lay off reading the comments on political news stories on MSNBC, but I just fucking cant. Its morbid curiosity or something.

Its also interesting to see (or read) how point of view and perspective can vary so widely between groups of people who are in similar financial situations. I am a pretty liberal democrat and I have very little money. I am quite aware of pretty conservative republicans who also have very little money and would probably agree with very little, if any, of my political opinions on the current economic crisis.

An interesting thing I read (in the comments on some story about the presidents budget, not from any sort of credible source) was that Ben Afleck had apparently said at some point that he received $1M in tax refund dollars - and he thought that it was totally ridiculous that a person that makes as much money as he does should get a refund of that much money from the government. Someone else commented that if Ben paid in $2M in taxes and got a $1M refund while someone else who paid $2,000 in got a $1,000 refund, then the two refunds are totally fair. I get that the ratio between the two amounts is the same, making it fair mathematically - but I just dont see the world that way. And I think Ben was making the same point - he doesnt need that $1M that was given back to him as much as, say, people with less money who could benefit from social programs that the money could have funded. The commenter who wrote about the fairness in ratios also pointed out that Ben should be given the money back by the government and then free to decide whether or not he wants to donate it to whatever cause he wants to see it go to. Ok, I see that too. I guess it would be nice to be super rich and be able to decide where exactly your huge amount of tax dollars are being spent. But, again, I dont really see the world that way. I guess I dont have enough faith in people (extremely rich people, in this case) that they would even give it back to the public if given a choice in the first place. So should we take it from them against their will by way of higher taxes for the extremely rich? The answer to that question - the truth in my gut - gets more complicated the more I really think about it.

On one hand - yes, absolutely, give the higher tax burden to those who can handle it "easiest". Meaning, the top money makers in the country. When I think about this tax bracket, I am imagining gigantic mansions in several parts of the world belonging to the same family, private jets, etc. These are people who, in my mind, would have to sacrifice the least essential items for survival (maybe having to get rid of the jet and *gasp!* fly first class instead). These are luxuries I would not lose sleep over depriving people in this economic climate.

My opinion of this question gets a little more complicated when I think of people who would be considered "rich", but not exorbitantly so. People who have nice, big houses, nice cars, go on expensive family vacations every year, etc. Im thinking this tax bracket brings home a high six figure salary, maybe even low seven figures. These are people who are no doubt living the American Dream. Is it fair to penalize them for being successful? Certainly they can "afford" a higher tax burden, which I think already comes with the territory of being in a higher tax bracket. I guess in my mind these people deserve neither a tax hike nor a tax break.

And then the further I think on it, the more it becomes clear that this is a seriously, intensely complicated issue. One that cannot be thought of in blanket terms. That being said, the one thing that does not sit well with me is the idea of tax "breaks" for people who can be considered rich. EVERYONE in this economy should have to pay their share. The idea that there are people who are rich (in any sense of the word) and are getting a break on their taxes during a time when so many people in this country cannot even make ends meet is appalling. Absolutely appalling.

Regarding the uproar over Obama's proposed budget for the year - again its an extremely complicated matter. Growing the economy while simultaneously cutting way back on spending is not something I can wrap my head around - yet there seem to be so many couch-economists that have strong opinions of exactly what needs to be done, of course, without any pressure of consequence should they be totally wrong.

When it comes to social issues like abortion and civil liberties, I have very strong viewpoints, but when it comes to economic issues... most of that stuff is way over my head - and, in my opinion, over most peoples heads as well. I struggle enough with budgeting for my household, balancing a budget for the entire country seems like a mammoth task I couldnt even begin to understand how to start, let alone accomplish with any success. Perhaps I am biased as an Obama supporter, but I think that considering the mess he was handed, people might give the guy a little credit. But, of course, in this culture of instant-gratification that we love to live in, the people want a miracle and they want it yesterday.

In these financial hard times, Im grateful for things that make me happy and cost almost nothing - family, friends and Charles Shaw.

xoxo