Socialism's Sad Propagandists

The entire Class Warfare agenda collapses under serious scrutiny

President Obama's demagoguery surrounding wealth, taxes and everybody paying their "fair share" (what the hell ever that is) has passed its freshness date, but still it sits there in the public square, rotting like a sack of bloody fish heads in the harsh noonday sun.  

Progressive hopium smokers say things like this...

"We have very little progressivity in our tax code, we have among the world's worst wealth disparity, and when compared to income and wealth, the wealthy pay much less in taxes than do the rest of us." (Jersey McJones)

This is the propaganda that Obama's willfully-ignorant toadies will regurgitate in response to a perfectly good blog post written by blogger buddy Jack Camwell.

The Rich already pay more than the rest of us

The effective tax rate of the median income taxpayer, (due to exemptions, deductions, etc) is 7.4 %,  according to the New York Times, and not 15% or 25% as some have alleged.

Romney, a typical rich man who, like Warren Buffett, makes most of his money off of investments, had an effective rate of 13.9% in 2010. Rich men Obama and Gingrich paid 26.8% and 32.2% respectively. So rich people are paying at least twice the rate as the median income taxpayer, with some paying four times that.

Make the rich pay more?  Even taxing the 1% at 100%, essentially confiscating their entire paycheck every two weeks would yield only another $900 billion or so, a band-aid to Obama's gushing deficits.  Think about that for a moment.  Even complete confiscation would not solve our government's deficit problems.

Earned Income and Capital Gains are taxed at different rates

It is also useful to distinguish between earned income and capital gains. They are taxed at different rates. So the Warren Buffett's secretary argument is one of apples and oranges. And btw, she's not a school secretary earning $30,000 per year; she reportedly makes over $300K/year, which puts some of her income all the way up in the 33% bracket.  So yeah, Warren pays a lower effective tax rate, but he gets his money from captial gains, not salary.  Maybe she should ask to be paid in Berkshire Hathaway shares...

Wealth distribution" rhetoric betrays an anti-liberty, socialist mindset

Who distributes it? Based upon what criteria? Where does the wealth come from?  Who owns it?  Do they really believe Uncle Obama has a stash?  These unabashed socialists are talking about confiscating other people's money and redistributing it as they see fit, plain and simple.

The capitalist form of redistribution is going to work for a rich man in exchange for some of his money.

The US tax code is the most progressive among developed nations:

But a new study on inequality by researchers at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris reveals that when it comes to household taxes (income taxes and employee social security contributions) the U.S. "has the most progressive tax system and collects the largest share of taxes from the richest 10% of the population."

[...]  the U.S. tax system is far more progressive—meaning pro-poor—than similar systems in countries most Americans identify with high taxes, such as France and Sweden.  (The Tax Foundation)

Socialist Propaganda

Jersey's quote at the top of this article is a beautiful slice of sly socialist propaganda:

"...and when compared to income and wealth, the wealthy pay much less in taxes than do the rest of us."

See how Jersey sneaked in "and wealth?"  We do not tax wealth in this country! We tax income!  And did you notice the tautology?  The wealthy are wealthier than the rest of us because they have more wealth...

Here are the bare facts, and they are nowhere near what Jersey would have you believe:  The Top 5% of income earners pay over 50% of all taxes, while the bottom 50% pay just 2.25% Source:  National Taxpayer's Union

Always be sure to carefully parse progressive propaganda. They can't stick to the simple numbers, but must invent categories and sly formulations to make their propaganda points.

So, in summary, the poverty pimps and the class warfare hustlers on the left are full of crap

Yes, social issues and crony crapitalism contribute to wealth disparity, but so does lazy people sitting on their asses all day while entrepreneurs are out finding ways to make money by serving their fellow man.  An efficient market does not distribute rewards equally; it distributes them by merit.  

The rich pay the overwhelming preponderance of taxes in this country, and almost 50% of Americans pay no federal income tax whatsoever. Some even get Earned Income Tax Credit, where the government pays them! Thank President Gerald Ford (a republican) for enacting it, and President Ronald Reagan (a republican) for expanding it.

So put that in you hopium pipe and smoke it!