Q & A on class warfare

[azmouse]

Love this!

Quote:From: Froma Harrop at Creators Syndicate

Q: Is it fair that the top 1 percent pay 38 percent of all taxes?

A: First, let's correct your number. It applies only to federal income taxes. When you add in payroll taxes, federal excise taxes (gasoline, for example) and various state taxes, the bottom 20 percent paid 12.3 percent of their income in taxes last year and the wealthiest 1 percent paid 7.9 percent. Does that sound fair to you?

With all these taxes in the mix, the top 1 percent paid only 21.5 percent of the total — and do note that they earned 20.3 percent of total personal income.

Q: Well, what about that 51 percent of households that owed no federal income tax in 2009? Huh?

A: So few Americans paid the federal income tax that year because the recession pushed many people's earning below the taxable level. In ordinary times, households that don't pay federal income tax range from 35 percent to 40 percent of the total. In 2007, the number was 38 percent.

Bear in mind that the Bush tax cuts removed many people (who were paying very little tax to begin with) off the tax rolls. Also, 17 percent of those who paid no income tax are over 65 and probably retired.

Q: Sen. Lindsey Graham defined class warfare as "when you pick one area of the economy and say we're going to tax those people because most people are not those people." Is it fair to let the American masses raise taxes on a small group of rich people?

A: Hmmm. I don't recall the Republican from South Carolina complaining during the Bush years, when the top 1 percent receive an average tax cut of $34,992, while the middle 20 percent got $647.

Read more at: http://www.creators.com/liberal/froma-ha...amp-a.html

[There Is No Spoon]

Facts are like kryptonite to Republicans.

[jaxx]

Really good Q&A, I'd love to see the pubs sputter through that one.