OT Somehow these poor "downtrodden" folks you seem to be inclined to redistribute wealth to are perfectly content to chain smoke, drink heavily, buy lottery tickets, and do crack.
OakesCS...the very fact that you are implying that all "lettuce pickers" or those in the lowest tax bracket engage in the activities listed above is appalling. As I would seriously hope you are aware, there are many hard working individuals who simply didn't catch a break in life and don't make the type of money that you apparently do. Sure, there are some who never tried and therefore are not successful....much like there are plenty who were born with a silver spoon and are successful without ever having tried.
Have you ever gone to a diner or breakfast joint and seen the waiter/waitress busting their ass for the (relatively) low wages/tips they make? You honestly don't feel that you could part with a bit more...on a percentage basis, of course...then they can?
Just a guess here, but I would assume that most on this board can afford to send kids to college, own a very nice home and be more than OK when it comes to retirement...after taxes. Even raising cap gains and dividends back to 20% tax (which I'm not necessarily advocating) wouldn't derail these things. How about a little compassion for those who never did crack and work their ass off, and will still hope like hell for a bit of federal aid to send their kid to the local community college, never mind Harvard.
This is a biotech board, so I'm done with this topic.
Best,
Geoff
