Nope. Words have meanings in economics.The definition of a regressive tax regime is a tax in which the effective rate increases as income decreases.
Tariffs impose a regressive tax.
Seriously? After decades upon decades libs telling us it was and then all the sudden you flipped?
If Trump said he supported Planned Parenthood lefties would be out protesting abortion clinics the next day.
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I don’t speak for “libs”
Please make a note of it.
Okay…were they lying?
They misused a term of art in economics. Whether it was intentional or not, I don’t know.
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Lemme ask you this.
which of the following is regressive tax:
a. a 10% flat tax on all income
b. a 10% flat tax on Lamborghinis and Fabergé Eggs
c. a 10% falt tax on new imported cars, Birken Bags and top-of-the market electronics
I think it’s out of not knowing
I didn’t know and agreed with posts that would say that it is.
Yes economics has a lot of jargony terms.
Proft and rent mean very very differnt things in econ class and out in teh rest of the world such as on the Hannity board.
If a person wanted to he could try to deceive others by swtiching defintions mid stream.
EX:
-
“I dont pay my landlord any rent. He doesn’t receive any rent. And he will never evict me. Failure to pay rent is not grounds for eviction.”
-
“Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)is one of the largest corporations in America, but it never made a profit. Why? It buys and sells only commodities. it is impossible to make a profit unless you have a brand or patent etc..”
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The rice market is perfecty competitive but the hamburger market is not. How do I know? Well Mcdonalds sells round burgers and Wendy’s sells square burgers and each has a brand name, ergo the market is not competitive."
The last two are by definition regressive. Any consumption taxi is regressive. It’s not a value judgment, it’s a definition. People who earn a billion dollars and need afaberge egg pay a smaller portion of their income on the tax
Than people who earn 400 million.
Ditto, same scenario with tshirts from Bangladesh.
When I was young and poor (and handsome)
nearly all of my money went to rent and car and insurance.
The only imported thing I bought regularly was gas.
A tariff would have taken nearly zero percent of my income.
(might as well have taxed Lamborghinis and Fabergé Eggs.)
At the same time, my brother was an engineer married to a lawyer.
A large part of their income went to imported stuff.
Hmm
a tax that takes ~$0 from a poor man, and
takes thousands of dollar from rich people, and
tends to follow the pattern “eh richer you are the more you probably pay”
Only way to call that “regressive” is to switch into using a definiton not normally used in everyday conversation.
The world has changed. Walk into a Walmart - the
Or a Dollar store - and see how many products are imported. Virtually all of it. And those retailers are where many (most? ) low income people shop
The definition being used is the accurate one, the actual one, the term of art.you seem to be placing a value judgment on it
Yes and my landlord makes no rent, and ADM makes no profit
and fast food burgers are not a competitive business.
Putting this in the tariff thread cause it seems very related.
Effective August 29, 2025, all commercial goods shipped by private carriers such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL that would have previously qualified for duty-free entry under the $800 threshold will now be subject to regular import duties. This includes millions of online purchases made by American consumers from foreign sellers.
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I thought they already did that.
Hmm maybe this was another one of Trump’s on-again off-again things.
(I can’t keep up with them all.)
So we should just use loose, undefined terms that make you feel good?
Ok then.
I think it is. Taking 20% of someones $30K income leaves them with much less to get by on than someone making 1M.
IOW the impact of taking 6K from someone with 30K is way more signifigant than taking 200K from someone with 1,000,000.
Yes, the impact is bigger on a poor person. That’s not the definition of regressive as a term of art. We seem to be using “regressive” as a value term here.
A regressive tax is one where the rate increases as income declines. The SS tax is regressive - someone who earns 17,600 pays 15.3% while someone who earns 1.76M pays 1.53%.
A flat income tax that applies to all forms of income does not have this feature.
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This is the definition I was thinking of:
Regressive Tax
Taxes can create different burdens on taxpayers of different income levels, measured by comparing taxes paid as a fraction of income. A regressive tax is one that creates a larger burden on lower-income taxpayers than on middle- or higher-income taxpayers.
