From an e-mail:
"Would it not be better to simplify the system of taxation rather than to spread it over such a variety of subjects and pass through so many new hands." --Thomas Jefferson
Election Year Taxes
As we have documented over the years, the Leftmedia are quite adept at using polls to drive public opinion rather than reflect it. The latest such example was a poll on taxes in advance of Income Redistribution Day, but as we shall see, there's more here than meets the eye.
Gallup reports, "As tax filing day looms, Americans fall into two closely matched camps: those who believe the amount they pay in federal income tax is too high (46%) and those who consider it 'about right' (47%). Just 3% consider their taxes too low." It's hardly newsworthy that so few find their taxes to be too low, but for so many to see them as "about right" is interesting. Here's why: Roughly half of Americans don't pay any income taxes at all. It's no coincidence, then, that roughly half of Americans think their tax burden is "about right."
We'll give Gallup one thing: They made clear that Americans had a much more negative view of their taxes prior to the Bush tax cuts. And why wouldn't they? Contrary to media myth, the Bush tax cuts applied to everyone -- not just the wealthy. The top rate went from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, the next tier dropped from 36 to 33, followed by 31 to 28, 28 to 25 and the lowest bracket dropped from 15 percent to 10 percent. For those who appreciate math, the bottom bracket had both the greatest nominal drop -- 5 points -- and the greatest percentage drop -- 33 percent -- but you won't hear that on the network news.
Indeed, the Leftmedia have suppressed that inconvenient truth to the point that a CNN poll shows that almost 70 percent of Americans think the tax system favors the wealthy. The fact is, according to CNS News and the Tax Foundation, "Americans making more than $250,000 had an effective tax rate of 23.4 percent and their total share of the tax burden was 45.7 percent." That contrasts with Americans earning less than $50,000, who paid an effective rate of 3.5 percent for a share of 6.7 percent. Yet with Barack Obama's canard that the rich don't pay their "fair share" being blasted through the sycophantic media bullhorn, it's no wonder the idea sticks.
Perceptions could change on Jan. 1, 2013, when the Bush tax cuts are set to expire. Some were extended by the last Congress, but rates will go up for everyone in January unless an extension passes this year. The aforementioned rates will return to their previous levels, the child tax credit will drop from $1,000 to $500, the marriage penalty will return, the death tax will skyrocket to 55 percent, the capital gains tax rate will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent (with another 3.8 percent tacked on for ObamaCare), and the tax on dividends will go from 15 percent to the rate of ordinary wages -- as high as 39.6 percent. The temporary payroll tax cut will also expire. The total tax bomb on the struggling economy will be close to $500 billion.
Instead of defusing the issue, the Senate took up but failed to pass Obama's beloved Buffett Rule, an election-year tax gimmick that would require millionaires to pay no less than 30 percent in taxes. We call this a gimmick because, as columnist Charles Krauthammer points out, "If we collect the Buffett tax for the next 250 years -- a span longer than the life of this republic -- it would not cover the Obama deficit for 2011 alone."
An extension of the Bush tax cuts, on the other hand, should be a no-brainer during an election year. It should not only be permanent, but there should be fewer and even lower rates, which would lead to economic growth. As Joe Biden might say, "It's not class warfare. It's math." Of course, he meant that comment to further the administration's class warfare against the wealthy and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney in particular. Obama and his minions want you to focus on what Romney does with his income, and not what Obama does with yours.
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