Moment of truth for wealthy Bay Area liberals

[Torie]

In other news, Obamacare raises the medicare tax from 2.9% to 3.8% on earned income that goes on forever, and slaps the 3.8% on unearned income for everybody earning over 200K if single, and 250K if married. I find it more and more profitable to spend my time more as a playboy than as a lawyer. That even applies to income from selling your home for a profit. Of course, next to nobody knows about this little tax. It was so buried in the 3000 some pages of the Obamacare bill, that it is only surfacing now, which reminds me yet again, just how pathetic the media is in covering anything complex.

[Torie]

How many people have over 200k in unearned income?

You combine earned and unearned income to hit the threshold. I will arrange my affairs to never hit that number again. Tax policy affects behavior. Who knew?

[Torie]

In other news, Obamacare raises the medicare tax from 2.9% to 3.8% on earned income that goes on forever, and slaps the 3.8% on unearned income for everybody earning over 200K if single, and 250K if married. I find it more and more profitable to spend my time more as a playboy than as a lawyer. That even applies to income from selling your home for a profit. Of course, next to nobody knows about this little tax. It was so buried in the 3000 some pages of the Obamacare bill, that it is only surfacing now, which reminds me yet again, just how pathetic the media is in covering anything complex.

I really doubt this is as obscure as you claim, Torie; Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz have both been regularly mentioning these new taxes (often inaccurately) on their respective radio shows for at least a year now. 

You subject yourself to listening to those two gentlemen?  You have more fortitude than I!

[Torie]

Fantastic news about that tax increase from Obamacare, Torie.  If only it were higher.

Tax policy affects behavior. Who knew?

OK, two points - 1) what on earth are you doing 'working' at all?  or is it more in a euphemistic sense you are talking about? and 2) what kind of bizarre reasoning leads you to consider a 3.8% tax sufficient to be not worth getting the money?  (hint - rich people resent giving back any of their government-provided privilege).

I know if I had passive income (whatever it was masquerading as on the tax form) effortlessly entering my pockets, I wouldn't cause it to cease just because I only got to keep 70% or so.

I was speaking about myself in one of the posts. Yes the marginal utility for me of additional dough is quite low relatively speaking. If the tax on passive income got high enough, I would just buy more municipal bonds.