GOP Chairman Steele: ‘after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money’

[kpete]

Source: Boston Herald

GOP Chairman Steele: ‘after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money’
By Associated Press
Friday, February 5, 2010 - Updated 1h ago

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and potential Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. agreed Thursday that Americans want action now on health care reform, but disagreed about how to achieve it.

Steele and Ford — who is considering a run for a U.S. Senate seat in New York — faced off on health care, taxes, abortion and other issues for more than 90 minutes during a joint appearance at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

..............

The two often traded jokes, especially when Steele panned President Barack Obama’s long-stated plan to let income tax rates return to higher levels for families making more than $250,000 a year.

"Trust me, after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money," Steele said.

Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/20100205gop_chairman_steele_after_taxes_a_million_dollars_is_not_a_lot_of_money/

[onehandle]

1. Hey, Michael. Can I have a million dollars? After all, it's 'not a lot of money.'

Thought so.

Cheapskate.

[GoCubsGo]

27. I'd be more than happy to take that kind of chump change.

I'll even share it with y'all.

[RedCloud]

31. Exactly! A check in that amount each day please!

[jschurchin]

2. The moronic statement of the year.

Thank god he works for the Republicans.

[valerief]

38. Steele is such an idiot. nt

[Kadie]

3. Well then, I guess it wouldn't take a lot of money to change my life

drastically.

[napi21]

4. Depends on where that million comes from! If it's from

Capital gaines, YES IT IS A LOT OF $$! Even when it comes from regular earnings, it's a hell of a lot more than most people will ever see!

[Blue Owl]

5. The Ford/Steele debate

Oh please...

:puke:

[Generator]

6. Even the math challenged like I can do that math

IF the taxes are 40% it's still $600,000. That's a nice living for anyone in one fucking year or even three. JESUS.

[Tempest]

10. $600,000 would last me more than 10 years

That includes paying my mortgage and if I wanted to buy a new vehicle every 3 years.

[The Animator]

15. Hell, $600, 000 could sustain me for 60 years!

And that's if I wasn't smart about it!

Just throwing that money in a simple savings account. Even at 3% that would net you $18,000 a year in interest alone. For a single person, used to living within their means, the interest alone could support them for the rest of their lives without having to work a single day ever again.

Of course, with all that free time on my hands, I would end up doing something productive anyway. The only difference is I would be the judge of how my time was best spent, and not have to worry about justifying my continued existence to an employer who wants to export my job somewhere else.

[The Animator]

18. This sounds like the makings of an interesting reality TV show.

Take one six figure CEO,

One middle class joe,

and some poor unemployed guy who's job got outsourced last year.

Give them each 100,000 for the year, and see which one can make it last the longest...

You can even name the show 'Class Warfare'!

[jmowreader]

33. Sad to say, the rich guy could probably do the best

At this point I assume the $100,000 came with enough extra money to pay the taxes on it.

Assume the poor unemployed guy has a lick of common sense. He will buy a new car, pay his rent for the next year, and buy a buttload of canned goods. After that? Probably head to the community college to get a new skill.

The rich guy already has a car.

[JDPriestly]

36. Great idea!

[svpadgham]

42. I want to be on that show.

nt

[No Elephants]

59. Someone did something similar with a homeless guy. He was homeless again relatively soon, even

though he had supposedly had a small amount of coaching up front about not blowing the money or giving it away.

I guess after you'vve been homeless a while, treating yourself and try to re-build you self esteem via generous acts may be too powerful to resist. Not to mention that empathy with another person's needs may come easier.

I guess a tougher view might be that the same personality that had made him homeless originally were still there the second time around.

[totodeinhere]

39. The average American could not live on $18000 per year.

A lot of people need that much for medical expenses alone let alone housing costs and everything else. Get real.

[The Animator]

47. The average American? Perhaps not.

But for someone who is used to scrounging around the floorboards of his car to scrape up enough gas just to get to work, getting by on $18,000 is not as impossible as you imagine.

As far as interest rates go, for low, and middle income earners, 1.5 may be the best you can hope for. From what I've heard however, someone with substantially more money can get a better Annual Percentage Yield (APY). If you're shopping around for the best place to plop down $600,000... I don't think it would be out of the question for you to be able to negotiate a better rate. You might be able to get a better rate with a money market account, but who knows if that's a good idea these days.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

55. Well hold on there........

granted I'm single, my kids are ling gone and my health (so far anyhow) is good. My gross salary for 2009? 23,900............... so after taxes etc probably about 18K take home. There are more of us than people think.

[L. Coyote]

66. Do you realize how many Americns have NEVER had $18,000 in one year?

[malletgirl02]

71. You are right

In order to illustrate your point more clearly. A person actually has to be making around $11.00 an hour to make around $18,000 after taxes. which is $3.75 per hour more than the federal minimum wage which was raised recently. Also most states minimum wages are lower.

[Tempest]

41. You can't find a savings account at 3%

The best you'll get is 1.7%.

You can't find CDs that pay 3% that are less than 5 year commitments.

[nilram]

44. and you'd get 20,900 /yr from -mumble- bank at 3.49%

That's a 5 year CD, but you can have 'em pay you the interest directly.

I decided to -mumble- the bank name since I didn't want to give them free advertising. I found this on bankrate.com, 5-year CDs, if anyone's in the market. This one has a one-thousand dollar minimum, so that rate is available to small fry as well.

[Iowa]

51. I'm afraid the math wouldn't work...

You'd need to calculate inflation into the mix, and that's a huge factor when you're looking out over 60 years (or even 10 years). So if you were planning to invest passively, you'd need to own a mix containing a good portion of stocks in order to have a reasonable chance of spending 3% (while maintaining the same standard of living). A savings account at 3% just wouldn't cut it. This is a subject that has been researched thoroughly over the past 10-15 years or so. If you're interested, this site/calculator covers this subject about as well as any I have seen:

http://www.firecalc.com/

[FiveGoodMen]

11. "That's a nice living for anyone in one fucking year or even three"

No shit!

I have a good paying job programming for a bank. I've been lucky enough to have passed the median income quite a while ago.

But if I could make $600,000 in three years (even before taxes) I'd think I was rich.

Some people are just fucking spoiled.

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

25. It depends on where you live

I've had more than 50% of income go straight to various taxes making a hell of a lot less than a million dollars. It all adds up kind of quick.

Which isn't to say that a million dollars is not a fine income, taxes or not, even if you live in a high cost-of-living area.

[JDPriestly]

37. Alias Dictus Where in the world did you live to pay taxes like that? I want to make

sure I never go there.

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

58. California

Seemed excessive but the 48% left in the weekly paycheck was pretty close to correct. Californian's definitely do not get their money's worth, so it is no wonder people are leaving the state for financial reasons. I may become one of those people myself. They keep raising taxes and delivering approximately nothing of value.

[newspeak]

73. my hubby and I lived in California for years

really had no problem with the taxes. He was transferred to Utah--very repuke state-thought we would have lower taxes. Utah has state tax, as well, as tax on food, and in certain areas (where we lived) a high sales tax. In Utah, they think food tax is a fair tax, cause everyone has to pay it, even the poor. But, property tax (which they have) is not fair. Go figure. Anyway because of the tax on food, I figured that we did better in California.

[Bjorn Against]

70. At my current pay it would take me about 20 years to make $600,000...

And that is before taxes are taken out.

[newspeak]

72. actually it would be more

because the 40% would be for the money after 250,000. So, it might be closer to 638,500. That's still a whole lotta money in my book.

[tomm2thumbs]

7. 'Let them eat cheesecake'

or something like that

[proteus_lives]

8. Sigh. What I could do with a million bucks.

Trust me Mr. Steele, a million dollars is a lot of money.

[jmowreader]

9. It's only enough to buy two or three congressmen a year

If you earn a million a year before taxes, then once taxes come out and you buy a couple congressmen, you can afford a decent home and a nice car--nothing real ostentatious.

For the real high end shit like Senators, McMansions and Mercedes, you really need two or three million.

'Course, if you don't have congressional kickbacks built into your budget, a million dollars will go quite a ways farther.

[Mithreal]

22. The DLC does have coupon day for the less fortunate millionaires.

I suppose millionairesses can pool their wealth or time share too.

[No Elephants]

60. Meh. Owning three Congressional Reps could keep you in style for life, if you play your cards right

Depends on what "special interests" you have.

[Hekate]

12. Please, Mr. Steele, let me try "surviving" on a million bucks after taxes. Please?

You can't make this stuff up.

Hekate

edit: typo

[boppers]

13. Wow.

Just keep talking, Steele...

[Dappleganger]

14. How very nouveau riche of him.

He's only saying that to try and convince himself and others that he's still middle class.

[Jefferson23]

16. ROFL, this guy can't hide who he guards, not even a little bit!

[msongs]

17. how can to republicans talking be a debate? nt

[SpiralHawk]

19. Typical Republicon fatcat

clueless -- cares doodley squat about anyone but himself...

[Kber]

20. If Steele isn't a paid democratic operative

he should be.

Sheesh

[No Elephants]

61. Maybe, but, if so, the same would be true of Harold Ford.

And many other Democrats.

[Mithreal]

21. DUzy worthy.

[Joe Chi Minh]

23. What HisLordship thinks about before it's taxed just doesn't bear thinking about!

[burning rain]

24. Tumbril remark.

.

[mrs_p]

26. what a bunch of condescending

butt heads. how could anyone making a living wage support such shit spewed from these people's mouths?

[Blue_Tires]

28. the really sad part is more politicians

than we want to believe have this mindset...it's all monopoly money to them

[zonkers]

29. Excellent soundbyte to come back and haunt Republicans in Dem TV spots.

[L. Coyote]

65. I can't wait!

Good idea.

[HappyCynic]

75. Wasn't there also...

Wasn't there also a McCain quote from the campaign that the (upper) cutoff for middle class should be somewhere around $4,000,000? You could probably do a whole series of TV spots with similar quotes.

[BootinUp]

30. Spoken like a man who is well off.

relative to his fellow citizens.

[salguine]

32. I've only heard one other person assert that a million dollars wasn't a lot of money:

[Mithreal]

48. +1

when I saw your subject line I knew who it had to be

:evilgrin:

[daleo]

34. Nothing is ever enough,if you are greedy. n/t

[JDPriestly]

35. I assure you, Mr. Steele, the $50,000 that the average American

family earns in a year is a lot less than one million even after taxes.

Besides, people who make a million a year pay the big bucks to accountants to avoid paying those big bucks to the government. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we don't need to worry about the rich people. They always manage to take care of themselves.

[wroberts189]

40. I love this Steele guy... I hope the pubs keep him.

Every time he opens his mouth he reminds Americans how out of touch the pubs are.

[Ticonderoga]

43. Yeah Mike

A million buck$ won't go far in the ole crackpipe will it?

[Zoeisright]

45. What a couple of assholes.

This country is lost with people like that in power. Just plain lost.

[rrneck]

46. Fuck him and the goat he rode in on. nt

[Mithreal]

49. I see RNC telethon for the less fortunate millionaires

[defendandprotect]

50. Typical GOP arrogance and insensitivity -- gross insensitivity!!

[Confusious]

52. Maybe he can give me that pocket change then....

Dumbass

[lunasun]

53. Just talkin' to their base!

:puke:

[Hardrada]

54. Boy, what a fucking lame-o "debate" that must have been!

Why couldn't they juice it up a little bit with a third conservative like David Duke!

[DLnyc]

56. Maybe, but after taxes $24,000 is a FUCK OF A LOT LESS.

Fuck you Steele, and the stupid-ass elephant you rode in on.

[bamacrat]

57. Some people don't make a million in their lifetimes much less a year.

Even after taxes its a little over 600,000. Damn I would take a sixth of that a year and be so happy.

[DCBob]

62. Clueless is the only word that comes to mind...

and maybe pathetic.

[No Elephants]

63. I still want to know why the debate was RNC v. DLC not RNC v. DNC.

Is the Democratic Party tacitly acknowledging a reality?

[L. Coyote]

64. I need that money, for my living expenses until I turn (guess before looking)

about 75,000 years old!

I spend a lot on food. :rofl:

[blueworld]

67. Can't he pay his housekeeper or chauffer to clip coupons? What a sphincter. n/t

[dickthegrouch]

68. It's 50 years of my partners pay!!!

[chowder66]

69. I guess millionaires are the new middle class then....

which makes the middle class the poor.... and the poor....?

Steele is a chump.

[yurbud]

74. teachers make too much as a whole, but a million isn't enough for sociopathic trust fund baby

[patrice]

76. i.e. "Let them eat cake."