Taxes
Taxes are always at the center of the domestic policy debate in the United States and for good reason. People don't particularly like being forced to give large portions of their hard earned dollars to the government, especially if their money is wasted on bureaucratic red tape and programs that don't work.
The Democrats, as it pertains to tax policy, are class warriors. They think that if you have achieved wealth that you are somehow lucky and that you "owe" the country more in taxes because of your good fortune. During any tax policy debate, they will insist that the "rich don't pay enough in taxes." John Kerry, on every campaign stop, called for more taxes on the people that make over $200,000 per year. I have attached an excel file that shows who paid what in taxes through the year 2001. The information has been compiled by the IRS, so it is save to say that it is non-partisan. The most interesting line in the file is the last one, line 161. In 2001 the top fifty percent of taxpayers paid 96.03% of all federal income taxes and the much maligned rich, the top 5%, paid a whopping 53.25% of all federal income taxes. So essentially the bottom 50% of income earners in America pay no federal taxes! They do however, receive all the benefits that the federal government provides; national security, health care services, building of interstate highways, etc for free. The rich, the top 5% percent of income earners, paid HALF of all federal income taxes. Is this fair? Is this even American? That is for you to decide, but I believe that the rich are taxed enough. They are paying more than their fair share and asking them to pay more just reduces the incentive for someone to work hard enough to become rich. Ask yourself how hard you would work if more than 50% of your paycheck was immediately seized by the federal government.
Kerry also insisted, unabashedly, that he would champion new tax cuts for the middle class. Never mind that the Democratic party hasn't cut the tax rates in America since the days of John Kennedy in the 1960s. Never mind that Senator Kerry himself voted hundreds of times to increase Social Security taxes, gas taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, and basically any other tax that exists. Never mind that George W. Bush actually cut taxes on the middle class through rate reductions and the expansion of the child tax credit. John Kerry still insisted that the Democrats, not the Republicans would cut your taxes. The simple fact of the matter is that national Democrats are simply not credible on tax policy and that is one of the major reasons they lost across the board on November 2nd. It is real easy to say that you will cut taxes, actually supporting tax cuts and helping them pass Congress is another matter. Campaign rhetoric tells people who you want them to think you are, while how you vote tells people what you really believe.
When Democrats and liberals are in control of the government they want more tax revenue to make the government bigger and bigger, but they want you to pay the taxes to fund it, not them. Exhibit A of this hypocrisy is Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of John Kerry. This woman inherited hundreds of millions of dollars. She didn't earn it, she didn't work for it, she just inherited it after the passing of her husband. Her newly released tax returns are quite revealing. While the actual amount of money that Teresa Heinz Kerry earned in 2003 is a mystery, there is no doubt that was in the millions of dollars. What we do know is that her effective tax rate was 12% because she used a series of tax avoidance strategies to pay less in taxes. Next time you see your paycheck calculate the percentage of your money that goes to the federal government in federal taxes. Most likely you pay more than 12% of your money to the federal government. So Teresa Heinz Kerry, who didn't work for her hundreds of millions, is paying a smaller percentage in taxes than you and me. Yet she and her husband champion a larger and more expansive government which costs you and me more and more in taxes. So keep that in mind the next time you hear a rich liberal call for another government program.
Conservatives on the other hand want government to be smaller. We believe that you know what is best for you. Instead of taking your money and running it through Washington D.C., we want you to keep more of your money. Then you can decide if you need more health insurance or if you should start saving for a house, of if you want to just blow it on Twinkies and beer. It's your money, you should decide how to spend it. Liberals on the other hand don't think you are smart enough to manage your own affairs. That is essentially what the debate over taxes is about. Do you want to keep your own money and decide how to spend it or do you want some politician in Washington D.C. or a state capital deciding how your money is spent?
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
The Democrats, as it pertains to tax policy, are class warriors. They think that if you have achieved wealth that you are somehow lucky and that you "owe" the country more in taxes because of your good fortune. During any tax policy debate, they will insist that the "rich don't pay enough in taxes." John Kerry, on every campaign stop, called for more taxes on the people that make over $200,000 per year. I have attached an excel file that shows who paid what in taxes through the year 2001. The information has been compiled by the IRS, so it is save to say that it is non-partisan. The most interesting line in the file is the last one, line 161. In 2001 the top fifty percent of taxpayers paid 96.03% of all federal income taxes and the much maligned rich, the top 5%, paid a whopping 53.25% of all federal income taxes. So essentially the bottom 50% of income earners in America pay no federal taxes! They do however, receive all the benefits that the federal government provides; national security, health care services, building of interstate highways, etc for free. The rich, the top 5% percent of income earners, paid HALF of all federal income taxes. Is this fair? Is this even American? That is for you to decide, but I believe that the rich are taxed enough. They are paying more than their fair share and asking them to pay more just reduces the incentive for someone to work hard enough to become rich. Ask yourself how hard you would work if more than 50% of your paycheck was immediately seized by the federal government.
Kerry also insisted, unabashedly, that he would champion new tax cuts for the middle class. Never mind that the Democratic party hasn't cut the tax rates in America since the days of John Kennedy in the 1960s. Never mind that Senator Kerry himself voted hundreds of times to increase Social Security taxes, gas taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, and basically any other tax that exists. Never mind that George W. Bush actually cut taxes on the middle class through rate reductions and the expansion of the child tax credit. John Kerry still insisted that the Democrats, not the Republicans would cut your taxes. The simple fact of the matter is that national Democrats are simply not credible on tax policy and that is one of the major reasons they lost across the board on November 2nd. It is real easy to say that you will cut taxes, actually supporting tax cuts and helping them pass Congress is another matter. Campaign rhetoric tells people who you want them to think you are, while how you vote tells people what you really believe.
When Democrats and liberals are in control of the government they want more tax revenue to make the government bigger and bigger, but they want you to pay the taxes to fund it, not them. Exhibit A of this hypocrisy is Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of John Kerry. This woman inherited hundreds of millions of dollars. She didn't earn it, she didn't work for it, she just inherited it after the passing of her husband. Her newly released tax returns are quite revealing. While the actual amount of money that Teresa Heinz Kerry earned in 2003 is a mystery, there is no doubt that was in the millions of dollars. What we do know is that her effective tax rate was 12% because she used a series of tax avoidance strategies to pay less in taxes. Next time you see your paycheck calculate the percentage of your money that goes to the federal government in federal taxes. Most likely you pay more than 12% of your money to the federal government. So Teresa Heinz Kerry, who didn't work for her hundreds of millions, is paying a smaller percentage in taxes than you and me. Yet she and her husband champion a larger and more expansive government which costs you and me more and more in taxes. So keep that in mind the next time you hear a rich liberal call for another government program.
Conservatives on the other hand want government to be smaller. We believe that you know what is best for you. Instead of taking your money and running it through Washington D.C., we want you to keep more of your money. Then you can decide if you need more health insurance or if you should start saving for a house, of if you want to just blow it on Twinkies and beer. It's your money, you should decide how to spend it. Liberals on the other hand don't think you are smart enough to manage your own affairs. That is essentially what the debate over taxes is about. Do you want to keep your own money and decide how to spend it or do you want some politician in Washington D.C. or a state capital deciding how your money is spent?
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
posted by The Conservative Guy at
10:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home