The High Federal Income Tax Fantasy

Take a look at the AP release in today's newspaper. http://lubbockonline.com/money/2011-04-18/super-rich-see-federal-taxes-drop-dramatically

So much fussing about taxes, All the Tea Partying and such, you'd think the federal government was scalping taxpayers, flaying them alive, yet federal income taxes are at low levels unseen for decades. Obama is a freekin' low tax president! So far. From the article:

"WASHINGTON — As today’s tax filing deadline nears, ponder this: The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.

"The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year. The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.

Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent."

The article went on to say that 45% of households pay no income tax at all. There's more and it's a short article. Read it.

So what's the big deal about taxes? Most of us are close to getting a free ride. Why the demonstrations? Why the dumping of tea into Boston harbor in 2008? Why was my stepson keeping us up late one night arguing that the Democrats were destroying the profit motive by taxing us to death? (Yes, he had a copy of Atlas Shrugged under his arm at the time.)

Is all the protest because the protestors are brainwashed by a handful of demagogues?

Well, yes. Demagoguery brought a TV hostess turned politician from Alaska wealth and fame.  No shortage of demagogues on FOX.   And the nutso conservative mob are willing to send money to any con-man who scares them with an anti-Democrat patter.

Though some of the concern is not for the tax situation as it is but as it might be, a sort of pre-emptive strike, as it were.

Also, there is a fallacy in the article. Do you see it? They are talking about federal income taxes. They are not including the other ways we are taxed, nearly 10% on many purchases through the sales tax, state income tax in many states, property taxes. When you add up ALL the taxes, federal, state and local, have taxes gone down?

But the Tea Party movement is primarily an anti-Washington, anti-federal government movement. Perhaps they ought to be taking aim closer to home.