As someone who actually think Democrats need to do a better job trying to cut spending first and then raise questions about taxes later, you would think I would understand the plight of these right wing business owners who whine about higher taxes.
When I go through conservative blogs, the most common refrain is how Obama's taxes are killing the humble small business owner. The reasoning ranges from outright lies to ideas that betray a lack of basic understanding of accounting in business such as marginal costs and the idea of tax tiers. I am not even an accountant. I am merely a software professional who has his own S Corporation.
Myth 1: Obama's possible repeal of Bush's tax cuts for the 200K plus income range(for singles) would have hurt individuals and small business owners so much that they would have been better off reducing their income to the sub 200K tier. SAY WHAT??? Do these idiots understand that their first 200K of net income would still be taxed at the level appropriate for the relevant income tiers? A 4% tax increase for the 200K plus or the 250K plus levels would only apply to portion of the net income above that range and that is accounting for all deductions. So if the taxable income is 300K, the extra tax burden for someone earning 300K should be 4,000 if they are single or 2,000 if they are married (assuming the 200K/250K levels are for singles/couples). When you read right wing blogs, they use two tricks - they round up the percentage to 5%, then they apply it to the entire income. In some cases, they will apply it to the gross income making it even worse.
Myth 2: An increased tax burden forces a small business owner not to make purchases he needs for his business. Once again, where did these idiots go to school? If anything, an increased tax rate will only motivate an employer to spend on purchases because the marginal cost of buying a truck or equipment goes down as the increased tax burden is reduced.
Myth 3: Defense spending is for the common good while entitlement programs are not. Why should a tea partier subsidize a lazy inner city family. OK, WHY SHOULD I SUBSIDIZE a RIGHT WINGER'S IRRATIONAL FEAR OF ENEMIES? Why should I, as a taxpayer, subsidize wars that have nothing to do with my own security. And Why should I, as a taxpayers, subsidize an overkill of defense spending even on areas that are more relevant to my security. It would be like someone offering me a fool proof security system for my home but it would cost me 100,000 dollars. Sure, it is better than the $1000 system, but is it worth my money? No.
Seriously, it gets so frustrating arguing with morons. But I felt like this diary is in order as we can compile as a community a more refined list of incorrect right wing talking points.