A message for those who claim "taxing the rich hurts the economy". [View all]

[wtmusic]

Last edited Tue Oct 9, 2012, 12:35 PM - Edit history (1)

Let's get something straight right now - your taxes are 1/4 of what they were under Eisenhower, who actually ran budget surpluses AND grew the economy. Sure the deficit is high - the government can't pay its bills. Just like under Reagan who added $2 trillion to the national debt (see graph).

You say government doesn't work, that it's ineffective? That's because you're fucking STRANGLING it.



"Why the Wealthy Must Pay More

I understand. Nobody wants to pay more taxes. We all want to keep more. But the facts remain: Deficits have risen as tax rates on the wealthy have declined. See the first and third charts that appear below.

In fact, the overall tax rate on individuals has declined. See the second chart that appears below. Taxes as a percent of GDP have declined as profits as a percent of GDP have risen!

I hear you about the lower 50 percent of earners not paying any net taxes, but think about it. They don’t earn much. On average, about $25,000 per year (the 50th-percentile income is about $50,000). Let’s say we have a $500 billion annual budget shortfall and you can get half of the lower earners (35 million people making, say, between $25,000 and $50,000 per year) to pay $500 per year. You’ve raised a total of $17 billion. Not even a dent."

http://www.thebusinessowner.com/blog/2011/06/why-the-wealthy-must-pay-more