Thomas Jefferson Wanted To Spread The Wealth

 Just like there should be no white or black America, there should be no rich or poor America! There should just be one United States of America

Jefferson would be proud of that statement. He was a great egalitarian supporter.  Equality for all. I think some of his ideals should be re-evaluated and put back into practice.  

"The taxes with which we are familiar class themselves readily according to the basis on which they rest. 1. Capital. 2. Income. 3. Consumption. These may be considered as commensurate; Consumption being generally equal to Income, and Income the annual profit of Capital. A government may select either of these bases for the establishment of its system of taxation, and so frame it as to reach the faculties of every member of the society, and to draw from him his equal proportion of the public contributions; and, if this be correctly obtained, it is the perfection of the function of taxation. But when once a government has assumed its basis, to select and tax special articles from either of the other classes, is double taxation. For example, if the system be established on the basis of Income, and his just proportion on that scale has been already drawn from every one, to step into the field of Consumption and tax special articles in that, as broadcloth or homespun, wine or whiskey, a coach or a wagon, is doubly taxing the same article. For that portion of Income with which these articles are purchased, having already paid its tax as Income, to pay another tax on the thing it purchased, is paying twice for the same thing; it is an aggrievance on the citizens who use these articles in exoneration of those who do not, contrary to the most sacred of the duties of a government, to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens." --Thomas Jefferson: Note to Destutt de Tracy's "Political Economy," 1816. ME 14:464

"How far it may be the interest and the duty of all to submit to this sacrifice [of paying a double taxation on special articles] on other grounds, for instance, to pay for a time an impost on the importation of certain articles in order to encourage their manufacture at home, or an excise on others injurious to the morals or health of the citizens, will depend on a series of considerations of another order." --Thomas Jefferson: Note to Destutt de Tracy's "Political Economy," 1816. ME 14:465

"It must be observed that our revenues are raised almost wholly on imported goods." --Thomas Jefferson to Gouverneur Morris, 1793. ME 9:198

"Revenue on the consumption of foreign articles is paid cheerfully by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts... These contributions enable us to support the current expenses of the government, to fulfil contracts with foreign nations, to extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend those limits, and to apply such a surplus to our public debts, as places at a short day their final redemption. And that redemption once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition among the states and a corresponding amendment of the Constitution, be applied in time of peace to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, and other great objects within each state. In time of war, if injustice by ourselves or others must sometimes produce war, increased as the same revenue will be increased by population and consumption and aided by other resources reserved for that crisis, it may meet within the year all the expenses of the year without encroaching on the rights of future generations by burdening them with the debts of the past. War will then be but a suspension of useful works, and a return to a state of peace, a return to the progress of improvement." -Thomas Jefferson: 2nd Inaugural, 1805. ME 3:376

Consumption is a fundamental of economics...if noone is consuming, there is no revenue being generated.  I just wish consumption could support the middle class (artisans so to speak) who work hard for their "trade" instead of just working in financial institutions and investing in those same institutions.

Right.  When this country was founded it wasn't even considered "virtuous" for politicians to get paid. And artisans (those with real skill) were running the show.

Excuse Please! Where ever does not taxing some and taxing others, have anything to do with spreading the wealth.

Obama plan is take from one and give to another.

Jefferson plan:  don’t tax those that cant afford to be taxed, tax only those that can afford the tax and only the minimum in reference to what they can afford.

Jefferson was talking in reference to land tax’s.

FYI, there was no personnel income tax back in Jefferson's day.  Is getting real in any of your plans in the future........

Is everyone here wearing 2 left shoes?

A good start would be to tax fairly and stop providing tax breaks to companies like Exxon mobile that posted another record profit this quarter. 18 and change BILLION in one quarter? How many jobs did they create? Have all of their employees gotten a raise?  Take a look at all of them BP, chevron, etc.

Obama wants to lower your taxes and raise theirs.  How is that redistributing? Look at McCains tax plan, would you get more money?

Would you be able to buy more stuff? Hire Joe the Plumber under McCains tax plan?

DEMAND drives this economy.  Giving more money to the top, trickle down, does not help a struggling economy.  Bush had to come out the other day and tell banks to quit hoarding their money.  700B dollars to the top, and still they don't loan for houses or small businesses to pay their employees.

Imagine if we would have just said "Bring in your sales reciepts and we'll refund your sales taxes, same with your paychecks with your payroll taxes.  And we'll do this until that 700B is gone. (the top handout looks closer to 1.5 tril now)"

Imagine what would have happened to our economy.

Now look at the results of giving Paulson a blank check.  The same man who when he became CEO of Goldman Saks in 1999 raised their debt load from 20 bil to 100 bil in like 6 years.

Yes, just provide tax breaks for those who are struggling just to remain in the lower-middle class.  Corporations can handle a little pay cut.  They will still be in the upper tier.