OT: Unbiased analysis of Obama and McCain tax plans

[Aecetia]

Hey Borat:

“Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?
Critics of Bush’s three tax relief plans charge that only the wealthy benefited from the reductions in marginal tax rates. But is this true? And more broadly, do the wealthiest Americans pay their “fair share” of the tax burden?

The evidence shows that all Americans, rich and poor, benefited from President Bush’s tax cuts. The rich saw taxes on their dividends and capital gains reduced (as well as their income taxes), and personal income tax rates were slashed across the board, which encompassed every middle-class taxpayer. Even the poor, who generally do not pay income taxes, were rewarded with a higher Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and child tax credits.

Progressivity and the Tax Burden
Our tax system, however, is highly progressive, meaning that as one’s income rises, a higher proportion of that income is taxed. Thus, those in the highest tax brackets contribute more to the overall tax burden even though there are far more people in lower tax brackets.1

According to data from the IRS, the bottom 50 percent of income earners pay approximately 4 percent of income taxes.
The top 25 percent of income earners pay nearly 83 percent of the income tax burden, and the top 10 percent pay 65 percent.
The top 1 percent of income earners pay almost 35 percent of all income taxes.
The top 400 richest Americans paid 1.58 of total income taxes in 2000.
Rising Federal Taxes for the Rich
The empirical evidence shows that the wealthiest citizens are also paying an ever-increasing proportion of all taxes collected by the federal government. Data from the Congressional Budget Office show not only that taxes on the wealthy have risen over time but that the 2001 Bush tax cut barely kept their share of the tax burden from rising further:2

In 1984, after the Reagan tax cut had been fully phased in, the bottom quintile (20 percent) of income earners paid an average federal tax rate (individual, payroll, corporate and excise) of 10.2 percent.
The top quintile of earners paid 24.5 percent and the top 1 percent paid 28.2 percent.
In 2001, after the first Bush tax cut had taken effect, those in the bottom quintile paid average federal income taxes of 5.4 percent, about half of what they did 20 years ago.
Those in the top five percent saw a slight decline in their federal tax rate (28.6 percent, down from 29.7 percent).
The top 1 percent, however, saw their overall federal tax burden increase slightly, from 33 to 33.2 percent.
Despite the accusation that it was the very wealthiest who benefited the most from the 2001 tax cut, their federal tax burden stayed level at best and increased at worst. Progressivity in the tax system rose and the wealthy now pay about six times more than the poor.”

http://taxesandgrowth.ncpa.org/news/do-the-rich-and-businesses-pay-their-fair-share

[blahblahblah]

Hey Borat:

Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?

They pay more than their faire share! They shouldn’t be taxed at all so all of their wealth will trickle down onto us! Trickle down on me! I love being trickled down on! Some people say it tastes like urine but to me it tastes like freedom! Yummy yummy trickle down freedom. Tax cuts for the rich will save us all. The reason there is still inequality in the US is clearly because we haven’t cut taxes enough! Only a liberal dummy terrorist sympathizer would think otherwise! VOTE MCCAIN BOMB BOMB IRAN YAY USA GO GO GO GO USA USA USA!

[blahblahblah]

Hey Borat:

Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?

They pay more than their faire share! They shouldn’t be taxed at all so all of their wealth will trickle down onto us! Trickle down on me! I love being trickled down on! Some people say it tastes like urine but to me it tastes like freedom! Yummy yummy trickle down freedom. Tax cuts for the rich will save us all. The reason there is still inequality in the US is clearly because we haven’t cut taxes enough! Only a liberal dummy terrorist sympathizer would think otherwise! VOTE MCCAIN BOMB BOMB IRAN YAY USA GO GO GO GO USA USA USA!

[blahblahblah]

Hey Borat:

Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?

They pay more than their faire share! They shouldn’t be taxed at all so all of their wealth will trickle down onto us! Trickle down on me! I love being trickled down on! Some people say it tastes like urine but to me it tastes like freedom! Yummy yummy trickle down freedom. Tax cuts for the rich will save us all. The reason there is still inequality in the US is clearly because we haven’t cut taxes enough! Only a liberal dummy terrorist sympathizer would think otherwise! VOTE MCCAIN BOMB BOMB IRAN YAY USA GO GO GO GO USA USA USA!

[blahblahblah]

Hey Borat:

Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?

They pay more than their faire share! They shouldn’t be taxed at all so all of their wealth will trickle down onto us! Trickle down on me! I love being trickled down on! Some people say it tastes like urine but to me it tastes like freedom! Yummy yummy trickle down freedom. Tax cuts for the rich will save us all. The reason there is still inequality in the US is clearly because we haven’t cut taxes enough! Only a liberal dummy terrorist sympathizer would think otherwise! VOTE MCCAIN BOMB BOMB IRAN YAY USA GO GO GO GO USA USA USA!

[blahblahblah]

Hey Borat:

Do the Rich and Businesses Pay their Fair Share?

They pay more than their faire share! They shouldn’t be taxed at all so all of their wealth will trickle down onto us! Trickle down on me! I love being trickled down on! Some people say it tastes like urine but to me it tastes like freedom! Yummy yummy trickle down freedom. Tax cuts for the rich will save us all. The reason there is still inequality in the US is clearly because we haven’t cut taxes enough! Only a liberal dummy terrorist sympathizer would think otherwise! VOTE MCCAIN BOMB BOMB IRAN YAY USA GO GO GO GO USA USA USA!

[surveyor]

Liberalism and Economic Illiteracy

http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/liberalism-and.html

I was born and raised in a liberal Democratic household. My grandparents were socialists and my parents leaned to the left side of the democratic party. Socialism is the default position for most people growing up, for the best of reasons, which is why young people overwhelmingly support political parties that lean left.

Historically and phylogenetically, socialism is the more congenial system because, above all else, it lends itself to the illusion that it is more fair. In capitalist systems, there is enhanced competition and the very nature of the system is to be unfair, as successful people get rewarded and the less successful garner much less material reward.

The last century showed, in rather unmistakable terms, that capitalism is the much superior system in terms of generating wealth, but under capitalism, unfairness is impossible to avoid.

Since we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to ensure that life is fair, a truly noble imperative, capitalism is counter-intuitive. It requires unlearning much of what we learn in our earliest years and gaining a much deeper and more nuanced view of the economy and fairness. In the end, those of us who evolve in our economic/political thinking recognize that capitalism is ultimately more moral and more fair to the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are economically illiterate and well into adulthood operate as if the world should be designed the way a typical kindergarten works, where adult authorities make sure everyone plays nice and that all the toys are equally shared.

…

Last year the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage in the face of warnings from economists that doing so would lead to increased youth unemployment as small businesses, the single largest source of employment opportunities in America, were forced to make the calculation whether a young person worth $5.85 an hour might not be worth $6.55 an hour, moving up to $7.25 an hour next year. Only a liberal could be surprised that this has come to pass.

Presumably the next move will be for the Democrats to create a jobs program, administered for high fees by the usual community activists, to provide opportunities for these young people. The program will be funded by raising the taxes on the rich, including small business owners, who will have to spend hours filling out forms in order to hire these marginal people at a wage that makes sense, subsidized by the taxpayers, ie the rich, ie anyone making more than $75,000 a year.

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women. The new jobs program will become a typical bureaucratic boondoggle and will lose more money and create less jobs than promised. But, liberals will all feel warm and fuzzy knowing they did something to help young people and make the world a fairer place…even if it doesn’t work.

[surveyor]

Liberalism and Economic Illiteracy

http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/liberalism-and.html

I was born and raised in a liberal Democratic household. My grandparents were socialists and my parents leaned to the left side of the democratic party. Socialism is the default position for most people growing up, for the best of reasons, which is why young people overwhelmingly support political parties that lean left.

Historically and phylogenetically, socialism is the more congenial system because, above all else, it lends itself to the illusion that it is more fair. In capitalist systems, there is enhanced competition and the very nature of the system is to be unfair, as successful people get rewarded and the less successful garner much less material reward.

The last century showed, in rather unmistakable terms, that capitalism is the much superior system in terms of generating wealth, but under capitalism, unfairness is impossible to avoid.

Since we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to ensure that life is fair, a truly noble imperative, capitalism is counter-intuitive. It requires unlearning much of what we learn in our earliest years and gaining a much deeper and more nuanced view of the economy and fairness. In the end, those of us who evolve in our economic/political thinking recognize that capitalism is ultimately more moral and more fair to the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are economically illiterate and well into adulthood operate as if the world should be designed the way a typical kindergarten works, where adult authorities make sure everyone plays nice and that all the toys are equally shared.

…

Last year the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage in the face of warnings from economists that doing so would lead to increased youth unemployment as small businesses, the single largest source of employment opportunities in America, were forced to make the calculation whether a young person worth $5.85 an hour might not be worth $6.55 an hour, moving up to $7.25 an hour next year. Only a liberal could be surprised that this has come to pass.

Presumably the next move will be for the Democrats to create a jobs program, administered for high fees by the usual community activists, to provide opportunities for these young people. The program will be funded by raising the taxes on the rich, including small business owners, who will have to spend hours filling out forms in order to hire these marginal people at a wage that makes sense, subsidized by the taxpayers, ie the rich, ie anyone making more than $75,000 a year.

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women. The new jobs program will become a typical bureaucratic boondoggle and will lose more money and create less jobs than promised. But, liberals will all feel warm and fuzzy knowing they did something to help young people and make the world a fairer place…even if it doesn’t work.

[surveyor]

Liberalism and Economic Illiteracy

http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/liberalism-and.html

I was born and raised in a liberal Democratic household. My grandparents were socialists and my parents leaned to the left side of the democratic party. Socialism is the default position for most people growing up, for the best of reasons, which is why young people overwhelmingly support political parties that lean left.

Historically and phylogenetically, socialism is the more congenial system because, above all else, it lends itself to the illusion that it is more fair. In capitalist systems, there is enhanced competition and the very nature of the system is to be unfair, as successful people get rewarded and the less successful garner much less material reward.

The last century showed, in rather unmistakable terms, that capitalism is the much superior system in terms of generating wealth, but under capitalism, unfairness is impossible to avoid.

Since we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to ensure that life is fair, a truly noble imperative, capitalism is counter-intuitive. It requires unlearning much of what we learn in our earliest years and gaining a much deeper and more nuanced view of the economy and fairness. In the end, those of us who evolve in our economic/political thinking recognize that capitalism is ultimately more moral and more fair to the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are economically illiterate and well into adulthood operate as if the world should be designed the way a typical kindergarten works, where adult authorities make sure everyone plays nice and that all the toys are equally shared.

…

Last year the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage in the face of warnings from economists that doing so would lead to increased youth unemployment as small businesses, the single largest source of employment opportunities in America, were forced to make the calculation whether a young person worth $5.85 an hour might not be worth $6.55 an hour, moving up to $7.25 an hour next year. Only a liberal could be surprised that this has come to pass.

Presumably the next move will be for the Democrats to create a jobs program, administered for high fees by the usual community activists, to provide opportunities for these young people. The program will be funded by raising the taxes on the rich, including small business owners, who will have to spend hours filling out forms in order to hire these marginal people at a wage that makes sense, subsidized by the taxpayers, ie the rich, ie anyone making more than $75,000 a year.

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women. The new jobs program will become a typical bureaucratic boondoggle and will lose more money and create less jobs than promised. But, liberals will all feel warm and fuzzy knowing they did something to help young people and make the world a fairer place…even if it doesn’t work.

[surveyor]

Liberalism and Economic Illiteracy

http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/liberalism-and.html

I was born and raised in a liberal Democratic household. My grandparents were socialists and my parents leaned to the left side of the democratic party. Socialism is the default position for most people growing up, for the best of reasons, which is why young people overwhelmingly support political parties that lean left.

Historically and phylogenetically, socialism is the more congenial system because, above all else, it lends itself to the illusion that it is more fair. In capitalist systems, there is enhanced competition and the very nature of the system is to be unfair, as successful people get rewarded and the less successful garner much less material reward.

The last century showed, in rather unmistakable terms, that capitalism is the much superior system in terms of generating wealth, but under capitalism, unfairness is impossible to avoid.

Since we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to ensure that life is fair, a truly noble imperative, capitalism is counter-intuitive. It requires unlearning much of what we learn in our earliest years and gaining a much deeper and more nuanced view of the economy and fairness. In the end, those of us who evolve in our economic/political thinking recognize that capitalism is ultimately more moral and more fair to the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are economically illiterate and well into adulthood operate as if the world should be designed the way a typical kindergarten works, where adult authorities make sure everyone plays nice and that all the toys are equally shared.

…

Last year the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage in the face of warnings from economists that doing so would lead to increased youth unemployment as small businesses, the single largest source of employment opportunities in America, were forced to make the calculation whether a young person worth $5.85 an hour might not be worth $6.55 an hour, moving up to $7.25 an hour next year. Only a liberal could be surprised that this has come to pass.

Presumably the next move will be for the Democrats to create a jobs program, administered for high fees by the usual community activists, to provide opportunities for these young people. The program will be funded by raising the taxes on the rich, including small business owners, who will have to spend hours filling out forms in order to hire these marginal people at a wage that makes sense, subsidized by the taxpayers, ie the rich, ie anyone making more than $75,000 a year.

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women. The new jobs program will become a typical bureaucratic boondoggle and will lose more money and create less jobs than promised. But, liberals will all feel warm and fuzzy knowing they did something to help young people and make the world a fairer place…even if it doesn’t work.

[surveyor]

Liberalism and Economic Illiteracy

http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/liberalism-and.html

I was born and raised in a liberal Democratic household. My grandparents were socialists and my parents leaned to the left side of the democratic party. Socialism is the default position for most people growing up, for the best of reasons, which is why young people overwhelmingly support political parties that lean left.

Historically and phylogenetically, socialism is the more congenial system because, above all else, it lends itself to the illusion that it is more fair. In capitalist systems, there is enhanced competition and the very nature of the system is to be unfair, as successful people get rewarded and the less successful garner much less material reward.

The last century showed, in rather unmistakable terms, that capitalism is the much superior system in terms of generating wealth, but under capitalism, unfairness is impossible to avoid.

Since we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to ensure that life is fair, a truly noble imperative, capitalism is counter-intuitive. It requires unlearning much of what we learn in our earliest years and gaining a much deeper and more nuanced view of the economy and fairness. In the end, those of us who evolve in our economic/political thinking recognize that capitalism is ultimately more moral and more fair to the greatest number of people. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are economically illiterate and well into adulthood operate as if the world should be designed the way a typical kindergarten works, where adult authorities make sure everyone plays nice and that all the toys are equally shared.

…

Last year the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage in the face of warnings from economists that doing so would lead to increased youth unemployment as small businesses, the single largest source of employment opportunities in America, were forced to make the calculation whether a young person worth $5.85 an hour might not be worth $6.55 an hour, moving up to $7.25 an hour next year. Only a liberal could be surprised that this has come to pass.

Presumably the next move will be for the Democrats to create a jobs program, administered for high fees by the usual community activists, to provide opportunities for these young people. The program will be funded by raising the taxes on the rich, including small business owners, who will have to spend hours filling out forms in order to hire these marginal people at a wage that makes sense, subsidized by the taxpayers, ie the rich, ie anyone making more than $75,000 a year.

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women. The new jobs program will become a typical bureaucratic boondoggle and will lose more money and create less jobs than promised. But, liberals will all feel warm and fuzzy knowing they did something to help young people and make the world a fairer place…even if it doesn’t work.

[blahblahblah]

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Only liberals could BE SO STUPID.

Someday after I get my FEMA trailer trickled down on me and I win the lottery I will be rich too and then I can enjoy those tax cuts! I can’t wait!

[blahblahblah]

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Only liberals could BE SO STUPID.

Someday after I get my FEMA trailer trickled down on me and I win the lottery I will be rich too and then I can enjoy those tax cuts! I can’t wait!

[blahblahblah]

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Only liberals could BE SO STUPID.

Someday after I get my FEMA trailer trickled down on me and I win the lottery I will be rich too and then I can enjoy those tax cuts! I can’t wait!

[blahblahblah]

Only a liberal could think this makes more sense than allowing the market to determine what wages make sense to businessmen and women.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Only liberals could BE SO STUPID.

Someday after I get my FEMA trailer trickled down on me and I win the lottery I will be rich too and then I can enjoy those tax cuts! I can’t wait!

[Author]

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