"The current state of the tax code is simply indefensible," says Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. "It is hemorrhaging revenue."Republicans use the same buzz words over and over and over again when referring to the need to cut high taxes. Except............the taxes AREN'T really high, certainly not income taxes. Applause to the AP article for this :
Actually, as a share of the nation's economy, Uncle Sam's take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way.
And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and poor alike.
At the request of The Associated Press, The Tax Institute at H&R Block compared 2008 and 2010 tax bills for families at various income levels, showing how their taxes have changed since Obama took office. Taxpayers are filing their 2010 tax returns this spring, while 2008 was the last full year that Bush was president. The scenarios assume that each family had the same income, filing status and number of dependent children in both years.Follow the above link to look at the comparison results for different family scenarios.
Income tax rates remain unchanged. But many taxpayers are seeing their bills drop under Obama because of more generous tax credits for college students, working families, homebuyers and the working poor. Many of the changes were enacted as part of the big economic stimulus package passed in 2009.And of course the Republicans and Tea Partiers flat out ignored the wishes of an overwhelming percentage of the population when they forced through the tax cuts extension for the wealthiest 1 to 2%, and of course we still haven't seen any jobs resulting from that - nor will we ever, regardless of the time frame. That money goes over seas to make jobs in other countries, not here, because the Republicans and the Tea Partiers won't adjust the tax loopholes which not only make it possible, but reward it. This image from the Huffington Post correctly sums it up.
We need a factual basis to deal with changing government, including fixing a broken tax system. The Republicans and Tea Partiers aren't fixing anything, they're only making the breakage worse- in part by failing to be hones and factually accurate.
And what makes anyone with half a brain think that raising tax rates will increase revenue?
ReplyDeleteWant a balanced budget? Cut spending. Raising taxes ain't gonna do it.
Too bad both parties want to spend the country to death, the Dems are just driving us off the cliff faster.
Thanks for commenting Mike W.!
ReplyDeleteActually if you look at the past administrations that were successful in addressing the national debt, they DID have higher taxes. If you look at the revenue after tax cuts in the past decade, revenue declined.
We wouldn't be in the position we're in now if the Bush Tax Cuts had not been enacted in the first place, and the pre-existing tax rates were left in place.
The cuts in spending you speak about result in poorer quality education - including fewer teachers, fewer police and fire fighters, fewer inspectors to keep our food from being contaminated.
The assumption that everything will still work, will still be functional after these cuts is ludicrous.
We have relatively little discretionary spending compared to the the total expenditures of governmen. Righties like the air-headed fact-free Michele Bachmann are already backpedalling as fast as she can go away from threatened spending cuts that would adversely effect veterans.
Want to balance the budget? NOT invading countries like Iraq would have gone a long way towards keeping things under control. Bush blew through a surplus.
There is a direct correlation to taxes and incoming revenue. Anyone with all their brain in tact recognizes that, learns the lessons of history, and doesn't try to make the same mistakes.
Even Reagan raised taxes to an all time high while governor of California, and ELEVEN more times while President -- although HIS spending still exploded the debt.
Republicans just aren't very good at this - in part because they embrace failed theories like trickle down economics.
Your putting your faith in a right wing myth, Mike W.!
http://rricketts.ba.ttu.edu/Tax%20Rates%20and%20Revenues.htm
and
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-taxcollections.htm
and
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=165
and my favorite,
from factcheck.org:
http://www.factcheck.org/taxes/supply-side_spin.html
Republicans may say it, but just sayin' it doesn't make it so; no, sorry, the notion that tax cuts increase revenue is another right wing fraud, hoax, myth, lie...call it whatever you like, just don't try to claim it's true.