Let’s give Democratic constituencies all the ‘fairness’ they can handle
Wayne Allyn Root
The Washington Times
9/21/2011
President Obama is right. It is time for “fairness.” It is time to ask some Americans to do more, contribute more, sacrifice more. But like most things Mr. Obama does, he has singled out the wrong group. The rich and business owners already pay far too much in taxes. They already sacrifice too much. They already share their wealth too much. The top 1 percent of income earners (almost all of whom are small-business owners) already pay 40 percent of the personal income taxes in America, more than the bottom 95 percent combined.
The top 20 percent of income earners pay almost 100 percent of the income taxes in this country. That means 80 percent of the population pays almost no income taxes and a full 50 percent pay zero income tax.
Mr. Obama said, “Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett.” The problem with that statement is that it’s a lie. Let’s get the facts straight. The typical household with more than $1 million in income will pay an average of 29.1 percent in federal taxes this year. The typical household making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay 15 percent in taxes. Lower-income households (below $50,000) will pay an average of 12.5 percent in federal taxes (most in the form of Social Security taxes). In dollar terms, that means the typical millionaire will pay $290,000 in taxes and the typical middle-class family earning $50,000 will pay $7,500. But most importantly, almost all of that $7,500 is Social Security taxes, which theoretically they will get back after they retire.
Why doesn’t Mr. Obama quote the actual numbers and ask Americans if this sounds fair? One American pays $290,000 in taxes. The other pays $7,500. Mr. Obama calls this “unfair.” As you can see, he’s right. It’s definitely unfair – unfair to the 20 percent of the citizens who pay virtually 100 percent of the cost of government benefits, which are enjoyed for free by the other 80 percent of the population…
The op-ed continues at The Washington Times.
