Easy Money...and Not Very Taxing Either

In Hard Times, Dreams of Easy Money - BusinessWeek: "...Even in good times, people have a strong fascination with easy money. The lottery industry, for instance, is bigger than either the music or movie industry, according to the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries.

Government-run lotteries generated more than $70 billion in gross sales in North America during the fiscal year ended June, up $1 billion year on year, according to the association. By comparison, Hollywood.com Box Office reported that 2009 box office sales in the U.S. and Canada were about $10.6 billion, and IFPI estimates that global music sales were $17 billion last year.

'Hard work is useful when it's productive,' says Gary Fong, author of The Accidental Millionaire, a memoir about how he succeeded as a wedding photographer and inventor with the help of some unforeseen coincidences. His mantra is to relax and stop worrying about expectations—success comes when one least expects it. While most people will encourage you to pursue your goals through hard work, Fong says, 'I have a little saying: When the going gets tough, bail.'..."

Obama Giving Rich Big Wet Kiss With Proposal On Bush Tax Cuts - Business in The Beltway - Money & Politics - Forbes: "As Adam notes, the argument we are having is “whether to extend all of the tax cuts or merely to extend the vast majority.” Or, to put it a slightly different way: Do we want to “extend an extra $310,000 in tax relief to the wealthiest 120,000 taxpayers or … instead make a relatively small down payment toward fiscal responsibility?”

As Adam’s graph (and the Tax Policy Center analysis upon which it is based) shows, the highest 0.1% of earners (average income $8 million) would still benefit, to the tune of more than $61,000, even if the top rate is increased from today’s 35 percent to 39.6 percent, as President Obama prefers. How would they get a $60,000+ tax cut, relative to current law, if their rates are increased?

There are two big reasons. First, remember that Obama would extend the Bush tax cuts for income of $200,000 or less ($250,000 for joint filers). Thus, high-earners would still enjoy the benefits of lower rates on their first few hundred thousand dollars of income. They would also benefit from Obama’s proposal to tax dividends at 20 percent since that levy would rise to 39.6 percent (the same as the top rate on ordinary income) if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire..."