>>>Who exactly are the rich taking income from? I must have missed someone (other than taxes) taking income from me....
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>>they're taking it from you Tracey.Thats what capitalism is. Your efforts create wealth . Some people get a much bigger proportion of that wealth than others.
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>What "income" of mine did they take exactly and how did they "take" it from me? You make it sound like they are stealing. No one has "taken" from me anything that I have earned (other than the government in taxes).

Don't be so sure of that. Here in germany the price of electricity is hightened by a subsidy for using photovoltaic / green energy. This subsidy was created by law, but is not payed via taxes but via a price adjustion based on the prices quoted by the law. We pay for "green energy" if we want it or not, but not via taxes but via the usual energy bill. Dunno if something similar can be found in the US. Other fringe cases may be hiked prices via cartel. If inflation will rise as much as the figures of public debt suggest to me, the buying power some of your holdings might alter differently - and on some you might not be able to switch.

> Because a group of people came up with an idea that was able to generate income and they benefit from it with income after paying for all their expenses to put that idea out there is not "stealing" or taking from their employees who are paid for their services. The only way they could take from me is if they forced me to work for free.

How about financial institutions taking advantage of low interes rates from the fed, lending that to greece or illiquid american home owners, paying bonuses (and taxes) estimated on imaginery returns and then being "rescued" via federal help, which will partly not be "payed" via taxes but via inflation ? Or forced membership [insurance, trade union, business associations] (which is a lot more rampant over here that at your side, to be sure <vbg>)

There quite a few ways you can be fleeced without direct taxation...

regards

thomas