Love and Taxes
Jaime and I recently had our first blowup fight. As in, I was left standing on the street at 1 AM without my phone, wallet, keys, or a jacket. You are probably guessing the fight was about the wedding road trip route, a bachelor party, or our wedding colors.
Oh no. We had a knock-down and drag-out fight about…
TAX POLICY.
And it wasn’t even about how getting married can sometimes actually cost you more than being single. Nope. It went something like this:
Jaime: I support paying taxes, but the wealthy shouldn’t have to pay a higher rate than everyone else. It’s a disincentive to work hard and make more money. A flat tax makes more sense.
Chris: I disagree. We have a progressive tax rate because the wealthy have more income available - a flat tax leaves the poor with a lot less money. They spend a higher percentage of their income just covering everyday living expenses.
Jaime: If I want more money, I work harder. Maybe some people should consider that. Plus, you hate rich people.
Chris: I don’t think the rich are magical beings who are better than everyone else. Some have worked hard and earned every penny, but others have gotten lots of advantages or simply inherited their money. Plus, you hate poor people, even though you’re not exactly rich yourself.
Jaime: Well, I won’t be poor forever, because I’m smart and I work hard. Someday I’ll be rich, and when that happens I don’t want to pay a crazy tax rate. And I don’t hate poor people.
Chris: Yeah, well 80% of Americans think they’re going to be millionaires and I’ve got news for them - less than 10% of them will ever be rich.
As you can tell, we have some different views about the world. My beliefs align closely with Bulgarian socialists, while Jaime and Warren G. Harding (old white guy at right) would have gotten along nicely.
The good news is that we quickly realized this doesn’t matter because neither of us has the power to change tax policy. However, it’s clear we’re going to get in some dumb fights while we’re married, likely covering topics such as…
- the best relief pitcher in the AL,
- puppies vs. puppies, and
- whether “Manwich” is an allowable word in Scrabble.
I can’t wait to see the types of arguments the road trip inspires.
Tags: road trip fights
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Jaime…stand your ground! No man is worth comprimising your beliefs…actually unless he is a good cook
I have nothing to contribute about tax policy (I mean, I’m just not that smart) but I will attest to the fact that Jaime and Chris almost never fight, so this was quite momentous, complete with intercom buzzing and door slamming. Don’t worry, it didn’t bother me - it was actually kind of entertaining!
While my views would probably differ from both Chris and Jaime’s perspective, if that could be possible…you’d think a 3rd person would have to alighn with one or the other, I did notice that reading Chris’ comments he pointed out Warren Harding was to the “right”. Unless I was turned around backwards when reading, his picture appears on the “left”…not the “right”…see what you have to contend with in your immediate future? My humour.
Oh- Maribeth- totally my fault. I moved the picture… hahahaha. Sorry Chris! And while the conversation above may be slightly inaccurate (ahem) Chris is right- I do think he hates rich people.
I’m with you Chris, all the way.
Thanks, Joanna! Maribeth, I am marrying Jaime primarily to lock up access to your humor. Janet, glad you got a kick out of it.
I’m with Chris on this one as far as tax policy goes… although I do think it is a slippery slope these days to go from being middle class to poor (all it takes is one layoff and no family to fall back on). And having to deal with rich people on a daily basis through work, I can attest that they are not all smart and/or hard workers.
Puppies vs. puppies? That sounds like some sort of cruel fight club.
That originally said “puppies vs. kittens.” I think Jaime made an executive editor decision that we should get a dog.
Oh no, Chris. That wasn’t an editorial decision. You really did write “puppies vs. puppies.” I thought it was just another one of your super dry jokes, so I left it in there. HA!
– Noted left-winger Adam Smith
TL;DR version: the poor actually need their money more than the rich, so to maximize overall well-being, taxes should fall mostly on the rich.
Damn. He is a good cook!
if i may just add, tho i realize i’m a bit late to the debate - i have to comment on the whole idea that if you work harder, you make more money. in my experience this just isn’t true. i think the custodians in my building probably work harder than me sometimes, but they’re certainly making less than me. and any time i compare the amount of time and effort architects are expected to put in (in school, in internship time spent to achieve licensure, and at work) to the money they make, to others with professional degrees (lawyers and biz folks, even planners), i come up quite short.
so for these reasons also heartily side with the non-flat taxers.
Aditi- What I told Chris was not *quite* as simple as he presented it- I don’t believe that working hard equates more money in all cases. My viewpoint is strictly based on living in San Francisco, where a small portion of the population chooses not to work at all and instead live off of everyone else’s hard work. Nothing angers me more than walking down Haight Street and seeing groups of people in their early 20s smoking cigarettes and asking strangers for money. Help from the government (and the public in general) should be reserved for those who need it.
Hey Jaime and Chris. I was checking out your site today. . . its great. Seems like good fun. I did have to comment on this topic though. . . why not a flat percentage? Everyone pays the same percentage. It doesn’t benefit or hinder the poor or the rich as it is the same part of their income. A flat percentage with no April filing and no changes to the income as you make more or less. What do ya think?
By the way. . . it was great meeting you Chris and seeing you Jaime.
YES! SOMEONE ELSE HAD THIS FIGHT TOO! YES! YES! YES!