Apolitical no longer: Cavaliers' LeBron James donates to Barack Obama campaign

[Glen Infante]

Apolitical no longer: Cavaliers' LeBron James donates to Barack Obama campaign​

Once careful to withhold information about his political or social beliefs, LeBron James made his stance on the presidential race known by donating to Barack Obama's campaign.

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[RchfldCavRaised]

Great on two fronts...

1. of course he donated to the right candidate

2. I was worried that LeBron would try to take the Jordan route in regard to politics and social issues. Jordan took the financial route when it came to embracing his standing as a public figure to speak out on things he believed in outside of sports. Its one of the reasons that I've always had more respect for Barkley than Jordan even though Jordan won more than Barkley did.

I was worried Bron would take that route, after the Ira/Darfur thing, but slowly but surely Bron is starting to speak out on things off the court.

Good.

 

[PIP]

I bet I know more about giving birth than LeBron knows about Obama...

 

[Maximus]

I wonder if Obama winning would help the Cavs chances of keeping Lebron in Cleveland. Between taxes and cost of living, we're talking about a gigantic amount of money for him to move to NY or NJ....especially if Obama wins.

Tax Rates For New Yorkers Would Top 50% Under Obama
'Significant Difference' Is Seen For High-Income Areas Like the City
By JULIE SATOW, Staff Reporter of the Sun | July 18, 2008


New York tax filers reporting more than $375,000 a year in earned income may end up paying nearly 60% of their wages in taxes to the government under a Barack Obama presidency, economists who have analyzed his plan said.

The Democratic presidential candidate is proposing not only raising the federal income tax, but also adding a Social Security tax for those Americans earning more than $250,000 a year. For New Yorkers, that could mean that if the current Social Security rate is applied, the marginal tax rate, or rate on every extra dollar earned, could rise to 58%.

"This is a very eye-popping number," a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Alan Viard, said.

Under current law, there is a 12.4% Social Security tax on salaries up to $102,000 a year. While the Social Security tax is split equally between employers and employees, economists widely hold that employees shoulder the entire tax burden because employers simply pass along the cost of the tax in the form of lower wages.

Mr. Obama has spoken of creating a so-called doughnut hole, where those earning more than $250,000 would have to pay an additional Social Security tax; anyone earning between $102,000 and $250,000 would be exempt.

Mr. Obama has yet to clarify what that additional Social Security tax will be, although his campaign said it is not likely to be as high as 12.4%. Rather, it said the tax is not likely to run higher than 4%, translating into a marginal tax on wages of as much as 52% for New Yorkers, who are subject to income tax at the federal, state, and city levels. The current marginal rate is 42%, which would continue under the McCain proposal. Full calculations of these figures are available in the slideshow accompanying this article.

 

[wuck]

the tax you mention would apply to any high-income folks, whether they live in new york or in cleveland. it's just that NYC has a lot of high-income folks already. it doesn't matter where lebron lives; he's going to pay a lot of income tax (and more under obama's proposed plan).

he would end up paying a bit more tax in NYC because they have a separate city tax.

 

[mixman]

the tax you mention would apply to any high-income folks, whether they live in new york or in cleveland. it's just that NYC has a lot of high-income folks already. it doesn't matter where lebron lives; he's going to pay a lot of income tax (and more under obama's proposed plan).

he would end up paying a bit more tax in NYC because they have a separate city tax.

I think that's the point he was trying to make. I think the state of new york also has a higher income tax.

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

I wonder if Obama winning would help the Cavs chances of keeping Lebron in Cleveland. Between taxes and cost of living, we're talking about a gigantic amount of money for him to move to NY or NJ....especially if Obama wins.

A multimillionaire athlete willing to pay more taxes, and in support of proposed plans to do so, in light of our current social and political conditions...

Breath of fresh air, Go Bron!

 

[Splitz]

Who is this Obama fella?

 

[southbeach]

Bron is batting 1000. Now if we can get Bush and Cheney on war crimes, the world will be good.

 

[The Voice]

I wonder if Obama winning would help the Cavs chances of keeping Lebron in Cleveland. Between taxes and cost of living, we're talking about a gigantic amount of money for him to move to NY or NJ....especially if Obama wins.

It would have to pass through congress...

 

[Joel]

I wonder if Obama winning would help the Cavs chances of keeping Lebron in Cleveland. Between taxes and cost of living, we're talking about a gigantic amount of money for him to move to NY or NJ....especially if Obama wins.

An even better reason for LeBron to stay in Cleveland: if he stays, he'll be well-positioned to run for Governor in about 14 years - right after Ted Strickland's two terms from 2006-2014, and Jim Tressel's two terms from 2014-2022.

 

[Adam]

LeBron for president 2050!

 

[David]

An even better reason for LeBron to stay in Cleveland: if he stays, he'll be well-positioned to run for Governor in about 14 years - right after Ted Strickland's two terms from 2006-2014, and Jim Tressel's two terms from 2014-2022.

Tressel will have 8 terms

Just because

 

[KCOTT]

i cant stand obama

 

[chiefwahoo]

i cant stand obama

Thanks for the in-depth commentary. That said, I can't stand McCain.