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Glenn Beck Demystifies Tax Code in Thought-Provoking Segment: ‘What’s Fair?’

Oct. 17, 2012 1:25am Tiffany Gabbay

In an election season hyper-focused on “fair share” and class warfare, Glenn Beck tackled the tax code and current tax burden on Americans. Using simple examples and a clear outline, Beck broke down the issue in its most rudimentary form.

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Comments (41)

Pro-Palin
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 9:03pm
Spot on Glenn wish u could have done this segment yrs ago.

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Dscriptboy
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:25pm
I think tax on income is theft by the government. We the people earned that money with our blood, sweat and tears. Our Founding Fathers beleived that, too. Any income tax was unconstitutional until the Progressives came along in 1913.

The question Romney should be asking is: “Are you better off after 100 years of progressive/liberal government?”

Check the stats, Democrats have ruled both houses of Congress 80 of the past 100 years. And it is Congress, not the president, that runs the country.

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ITookTheRedPill
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 10:00pm
Sometimes I wonder if The Blaze staff read my blog. I wrote a post on this 4 years ago:
The Parable of 10 Men in a Bar
Posted on October 22, 2008
http://itooktheredpill.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/the-parable-of-10-men-in-a-bar/

Thanks for spreading the message to a much wider audience.

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Elena2010
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 2:40pm
The Biblical view (Jew and Christian) on taxes is a flat tax. The tithe is similar to a tax, and all pay a flat 10 percent to support the work done in the Tabernacle/Temple.

Redemption tax was the same for poor and rich alike. Today, we would charge the Lord GOD w/a regressive tax! LOL

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- All Pro
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:08pm
  The biblical view is that “The workman is worthy of his wages.” The founders agreed and defined income as profits earned on money invested. There is NO law requiring any US citizen to pay one single penny of their paycheck to the federal government. We’re being scammed.
  
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Eamon
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 11:51am
Comparing a governmental tax structure to a bar tab is not only elementary thinking but is a false equivalent. As I’m sure Mr. Beck knows, the progressive tax system is not just that lower-income citizens pay a lower percentage of income tax, but that the tax brackets are graduated for high-income earners. Meaning, high-income earners do not pay 35% on all of his/her income, but only on the portion that falls into that tax bracket. Secondly, what Mr. Beck fails to mention in his didactic pursuit is that FICA is a larger portion of lower- and middle-income folks’ wages because it is only taxed up to $110,000. Mr. Beck states in his video something along the lines of not wanting to pit people against each other, but that is precisely what he is doing in this video. He is advancing rivalry against lower- and middle-income citizens by upper-income citizens. Additionally, he is not promoting a fair tax system, but a flat tax system. I live in a flat tax state, and, let me tell you, there is nothing fair about it. I would love to know what is the average wage of his followers? Just an aside about France’s new income tax hike: Mr. Beck fails to mention the 75% tax rate is only in place for up to two years. He also fails to mention that the primary reason some of the rich have thought about leaving France isn’t for the income tax hike but the capital gains hike. Mr. Beck is so busy playing with his props that he conveniently leaves out facts by covering it up with moral plead

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- Mary-Magda
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 11:59am
  Eamon: I couldn’t agree with your statement more. As a believer in Christ’s philosophy, I find it despicable that another follower of Christ would promote taxing lower and middle income folks even more, which is essentially what Mr. Beck is doing if you read between the lines. As I’m sure you know, even Ronald Reagan and Libertarian economist Milton Friedman, an economic advisor to Mr. Reagan, promoted a negative income tax for the poor. And I would imagine that Jesus would be sickened by this phony display of “fairness”.
  
  “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
  -Matthew 6:24
  
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- johnjamison
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 12:39pm
  Truth is what you and those like you fail conviently exempt from your rants is
  That the Rich pay the lions share of the tax burden in return for NOTHING.
  So in Becks little bar scenerio the 4 paying nothing drink the most and the one paying the most never even orders a drink. Sound FAIR to you.
  More over no entity on the planet waste more,is more corrupt,or more destructive to our liberty than our government. two quotes come to mind when I think of what has happened
  One by Franklin
  Is that our Democratic Republican can stand untilo the day when the can vote themselves more tax dollars,
  The other one I’m sure who said it
  Our nation can survive an ignorant and corrupt offical but it can’t survive the electorate that placed him in office.
  
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- Eamon
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 4:53pm
  John: You are assuming that the first four ordered more and the richest ordered nothing. I’m a small business owner; I know how these things work. Quite frankly, anybody who pays FICA receives SS and Medicare, regardless of income made over the years. And I would wager to bet that those that make more money also use more of our infrastructure because they can afford to do so. Buying homes, driving cars, transporting goods, flying, using technology, etc. all require the use of our nation’s infrastructure. So it is NOT in return for nothing that they pay their taxes. They receive the benefits of what our country provides them, such as infrastructure, national defense, etc. I would also wager to bet that it’s not just government that is wasteful, corrupt and destructive. Big business has a serious track record of waste, corruption and destruction. And so while you can accuse me of not telling the truth in my “rant”, what’s telling is that you haven’t dispelled any of the so-called lies that I’ve written. And I have to agree with Mary-Magda, I think “Jesus would be sickened by this phony display of ‘fairness.’” Mr. Beck is serving his master – money. And he’s terrible at math.
  
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starman70
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 9:51am
That’s exactly why we have the decrepit inner cities. When integration came to the suburbs and housing was opened to all races, EVERY successful minority businessman moved out to open up in the more lucrative suburbs, leaving behind the poorest residents.

With NO successful businessmen (Butchers, food store operators, cleaners, clothing store owners etc.) to 1) employ the youth. 2) someoe to respect and model their lives after, the youth was left with only with bad influences from which to draw a model from. They see drug dealers and pimps riding around in expensive cars, wearing expensive clothes and jewelry and they see this as a true picture of success. 3) NO FATHER FIGURE IN MOST HOMES, bringing home a paycheck and being proud of his accomplishments.

The government’s Plantation Model has exacerbated this by sustaining the statue quo with an unmitigated flow of welfare programs which tend to cause economic malaise in these areas. Namely, paying people to do nothing and rewarding them with increased payments based on the number of children in the home.

We must break this mold! We must do whatever necessary to attract businesses into these areas aand give these disadvantaged youth aomething to look forward to.

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- johnjamison
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 12:20pm
  What Glenn totally missed was the fact that the 4 guy paying nothing drank the most…while the guy paying that paid the most had a glass of water.
  Point being the rich consume no enetitlements other than the opportunity that everyone has here in America. And yet the Democrats say they don’t pay their fair share inspite of the fact that the rich pays the Lions share of a dinner they’ll never get to eat. While the core supporters of the democrats pay nothing while consuming the lion share of the dinner. And not only are they not grateful they want more and more and more . If I were rich I would get the he77 out of here and let the jackels feed on themselves.
  
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PatienceNReason
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 9:37am
As citizens of this country, we have the responsibility to pay for the services provided by the government; military, justice system, etc. However, it is difficult to understand where the authority is found to legislate the THEFT of anyones property. Yes, the rich have lots of money. Does that give us the right to steal it from them? Mr. Obama keeps saying “We’re just *asking* the rich to pay their fair share.” On most tax forms now there is a box asking if you want to contribute more to help pay the national debt. Changing the tax code to TAKE more is not asking, it is THEFT. And saying that it is to help the less fortunate is the end justifying the means. WE should take care of the poor, NOT the government. WE should educate our children, NOT the government. Remember the wisdom of the bumper sticker: “Don’t steal! The government HATES the competition.

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objectivetruth
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 9:13am
First off the US Constitution provides for taxation.It was meant then and should be now for military defense.This is one of the few legitimate purposes of it.SO the argument that taxes aren’t owed at all is frivilous.Well unless you can congregate train and pay marines soldiers out of your own efforts alone.Most of you including Glen haven’t a clue as to how the tax system actually works.You bit&& moan and complain about the IRS and the TREASURY.They only do what congress directs and tells them too.COMPLAIN TO CONGRESS AS THEY ARE THE PROBLEM.
THe tax code the way it is set up is not only a financial drain[more like a nightmare if you take everything into account]its a security hole of mamoth proportions.THe treasury told congress this over fifty years ago.
You want reasonable.531 Plan.Its based on income alone iregardless of source.There are no deductions credits exc.Its far easier cheaper and more well tolerated than any other tax plan would ever be.It doesn’t have the security holes,doesn’t require any where the amount of collections we currently have[saving the irs and treasury money-remember its your tax dollars used to enforce compliance.This plan is so reasonable that very few would dodge=Further more they would no longer have a legitimate excuse for doing so]Couple it with cuts to all entitlements then the country would be fiscally sound in short order.

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- johnjamison
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 11:53am
  Agreed if states want to provide all these entitlement to their residents then do so within the state. The whole one size fits all Federal Government DOESN’T WORK it only allows for more corruption and on much larger scale. Fact is the Government has grown way too big and omnipotent and is has becoem an enemy of liberty as well as the Constitution itself.
  I live for the day when a Presidental candidate will run on the platform of erasing the federal government and allow states to set up their own welfare system. Where the peoples rules is more closely involved with the elected bodies
  
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watashbuddyfriend
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 8:07am
Ok, okay! What is FAIR?

1. Get the Government out of the bookkeeping business,

2. Tax Gross Income at a reasonable rate, whether it be 5%, or 25% Everyone pays the same rate. Corporations have never paid taxes, they just collect from you, when you purchase the product, or service, then hand it over to the Fed for mismanagement!

3. Get a handle on the Abuse, and misuse of the funds collected,

4. After Eight, Must Vacate,

5. Must reduce the House membership by, to start, 50%. No State shall have more than 8 (eight), and no State shall have less than 2 (two) members.

6. Cut out the EPA, Department of Education, reduce the IRS more than 50%, cut, or defund the TSA, cut, or reduce the Department of Energy by more than 50%, more, and more.

7. Cut government spending $3 for every dollar of revenue collected, until the Budget is balanced.

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- SCREW-WINDOWS
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 8:22am
  Fair is a place to have a good time and spend frivolously.
  
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raderby
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:46am
great update on the guys in the bar story….. one thing you missed – we are close today to a scenario when the 9 kill the 1, by, let’s say, a guillotine – and then realize they can’t afford the tab, nor figure out who of the remaining 9 also needs to lose his head……and take a lot of time doing that “thinking”. All that instead of growing food, or making worthwhile products.

At the crossroads.

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- SCREW-WINDOWS
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 8:16am
  Let’s see guy 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 spent their money on foolish things like $250 sneakers rims for their ride and their drug habits. Is it fair to punish guy 10 because he was frugal with his spending and only bought necessities.
  
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mike_trivisonno
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:24am
American citizens should not be paying any taxes to the Federal Government.

What’s the point? Their friends at the Federal Reserve Bank print it up dollars by the trillions with the simple push off a button!! The only reason why the tax code exists is so that the Federal Government can control you with an implicit threat of violence. They don’t need your money. Never did.

Federal Income Tax acts as an external authority which is used to modify and govern your behavior in a manner that benefits the Federal Government to your own detriment.

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- Augydoggy
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:53am
  You are absolutely correct. I always laugh when they (polly-tick-ion) say they are giving us a tax break? Or better put. We will give you some of the money back that you earned by trading your labor/efforts for pieces of paper that are supposed to represent the worth of that labor\efforts. Then we the government needed to extract through tyranny a portion of your labor\efforts to feed the beast. But yet the Feds get to decide what that dollar is worth, not you. They call it inflation . You know what your feeling now as you go to the grocery store and stand back and wondering what the 200.00$ just bought you..
  
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Chet Hempstead
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:23am
The one question Glenn doesn’t consider is whether it’s fair that guy 10 is so much richer in the first place. I’m not saying that he doesn’t deserve more than the others, but how much? Let’s assume that he’s really smart and works really hard. And I’m not saying we should feel bad for guy 1 or guy 2, they’re bums. But guys 3, 4 5, 6 and 7 are all working hard without a whole lot to show for it. Is guy 10 a thousand times as smart as Guy 3? Does he work a thousand times as hard as guy 4? I don’t see how that’s possible. It’s not even possible for him to be a hundred times as smart as guy 7, or work ten times as hard as guy 9. No matter how valuable he is, he can’t be making that much without taking more than he’s worth, so much more that if things were really fair guy 4 would be making as much as guy 5, and guy 5 would be making as much as guy 6 is now.

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- mike_trivisonno
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:34am
  Glenn’s tired, old analogy has been trotted out for decades. It is a deception designed to deflect attention away from the real issue: why are American citizens being made to pay taxes to the Federal Government under the threat of violence?
  
  The Federal Government can print up dollars any time the desire. They do not need your money and never did. They use the Tax Code as a method of exercising external authority over the American citizens such they they benefit and the citizens do not.
  
  Federal Income Tax is a scam used to control you using an implicit threat of violence should you refuse to “voluntarily comply”.
  
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- Oatey66
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 11:27am
  Person 1 gained his wealth by providing either a product or a service at a price that enticed the others to spend a part of their income on that product or service. Does that mean that person 10 doesn’t have a right to keep the money earned from those sales.
  
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- Chet Hempstead
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 8:41pm
  Oatey66
  Person 10 wouldn’t have anything if he didn’t have person 3 through 9 or somebody like them working for him. He doesn’t have a right to keep so much of the money from the sales that his person 3s and person 4s have to depend on a third party in order to not sit at the table having nothing but water and breadsticks.
  
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- BTC55
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 8:41am
  CHET HEMPSTEAD
  
  Of course he has the right to keep the earnings. The workers were paid a wage they accepted. They are not entitled to the profits of the business. They are “free”. They have the ability to accept the work offered or reject it and pursue other interests.
  
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curly1973
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:12am
come on realindependent??? where you at ????? al’ shucks, I would really like your common sense “Mr. REALindepenedent” thoughts on this.. Or you just going to Say “al’ Glenn your just crazy talk”……….

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SCREW-WINDOWS
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:05am
Funny thing that some people don’t get it even when it smacks them in the face. Look at Michigan and places like NYC where they have implemented excessive taxation on the wealthy and business. The wise people left leaving behind the poor and no way to pay for entitlements. It’s all there just open your eyes.

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drydino
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 5:31am
The flaw in Glenn’s story, and political climate that promotes similar policies is that it only includes the monetary aspect. Granted the rich have more money so they can and do pay more than their fair share. BUT the rich are also the busiest, whether earning, spending or giving away their money. If everyone was really concerned about being “fair” we’d find the poor doing things the rich didn’t have time for, like volunteering, charity, community and church programs. We’d expect to find the poor neighborhoods spotless, because their people had the time to keep them clean, and even helping clean up in the rich areas. The elderly would never have to worry about small home repairs, because those without jobs would help them.
In our current climate, fairness is the rich paying more, and the poor are only responsible to take it from them … without doing anything to earn or deserve it!!

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- loriann12
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:17am
  And in that illustration, the poorest 2 would actually leave the bar with $3 in their pocket, they’d be paid for drinking.
  
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- Crus8r
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:22am
  Maybe my math is wrong, but if you look at the discount rate that is being divided up and paid back to the customers, it totals $23 not the $20 he suggests. I suppose its a small detail, but with the legalistic minds of the liberal, you have to make sure there is no wiggle room. Your simple error will be used to show the whole idea is wrong. The idea is sound, the mistake was in presentation.
  
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- mike_trivisonno
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 7:43am
  You know what Glenn should have done?
  
  Glenn should have erased the entire blackboard and replaced it with “I WILL NOT COMPLY”.
  
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nzkiwi
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 4:11am
I have seen that analogy before and have used it quite effectively in private discussions. The problem is that many peope, when offered an advantage that they know to be unfair, are still tempted to act in self-interest. Especially, if they feel that they won’t be singled out for criticism for their action.

That’s the problem. Mr Romney has bee very careful to point out that he will ensure that the rich “won’t pay any less than they do now”. In other words, while he is trying to create a fairer spread of the tax burden, he knows that he must first get elected to do it. He must couch his proposals in a way that is palatable to those who have come to consider that they are entitled to other people’s money.

I think that fair taxes will eventually be acheived, but it will be by small nudges. Glenn’s analogy is perfectly accurate, but he should not try to get elected on it.

And speaking of fair share and fairness in general, here is a clip of an experiment done with Capuchin monkeys to demonstrate the importance of fairness even amongst lesser primates.

I dare you to come back here and tell me that you didn’t laugh out loud…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8mynrRd7Ak&feature=player_embedded

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raiderglenn
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 3:13am
here is a clip of Glenn showing how Romneys tax plan can work as he claims.

http://goanimate.com/videos/0_O2bYDgZf6c?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0F9wJ-csRjNg

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Chrison
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 2:37am
Pretty good argument, but there’s one minor problem… Glenn divided-up the “$20″ refund so that it actually added up to $23 not $20. However, the basic premise of Glenn’s argument is sound… demonizing and taxing the crap out of the rich only causes the rich to move their money offshore or, worse yet, move their money AND themselves offshore.

As well, the whole class warfare argument implicitly destroys everyone’s incentive to get ahead. After all, if you bust your **** and succeed your “reward” will be to a membership into the demon class! Anyone with a brain will figure that out and stop trying to get ahead and succeed. Then where will the US be?

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- raiderglenn
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 3:12am
  Here is a clip of Glenn showing how Romneys tax plan can work as he claims…
  
  http://goanimate.com/videos/0_O2bYDgZf6c?utm_source=linkshare&uid=0F9wJ-csRjNg
  
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- 1TrueOne55
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 3:14am
  Equal to a third world country like Venezuela… or maybe Cuba.
  
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Ilikepeople
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 1:54am
What’s fair? That people get to keep 100% of what they earn – that’s what’s fair, because only God gives a man the ability to work.

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- 1TrueOne55
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 3:22am
  God also asks us to pay unto Caesar what was and unto God what is God’s. Even God requires us to pay a tax/tithe so that others that may not be “able” to work can also live and not starve. He “required” a percentage of the first fruits to go to the Levitical priesthood so they could spend their time in full worship without needing to work for the time that they ministered in the Temple to God. Any excess would also go to those who befell some calamity which caused them to not be able to work or harvest their fruits of labor whether that was crops or animals.
  
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- loriann12
  Posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:22am
  OK, you pay for your own police. I don’t mind paying taxes, I don’t love it, but I don’t mind. What galls me is there is a percentage of people that get more back than they put in. They’re supposed to pay a tax of (for simplicity) $1,000) but when tax time comes back, they claim their 8 kids, the fact that they’re head of household, and get that earned income credit and now they’re getting back $5,000. Tax credits should do nothing but cancel out what you would have owed, it should not give a positive number. It would be like, in Glenn’s example the bottom two incomes getting a $3 credit, so getting paid to drink.
  
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voting-for-romney
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 1:45am
Fair tax was introduced by God for his kingdom, and still works today? Don’t want to pay taxes, don’t work under the fair tax system?

Must be the work of a genius?

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bdandsl
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 1:43am
Well put, Glenn, as always.

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