And CNN just did this! Rangel says that the new tax law he is proposing would increase taxes on individuals making %500,000 or MORE and would LOWER taxes on corporations and low/medium income people!
John Roberts points out that the Repubs are claiming that it will increase taxes on small businesses.
So, is this a good thing or what? Well, it would be for ME! I'm a 'little guy,' with an income WAY below $500,000 (Only 0.4% of Americans have an income this large according to a newspaper in Maine.) Over 77% of American earn less than $100,000 a year, (according to Wikipedia...an unreliable source? Let me confirm elsewhere)so a significant portion of the public will be untouched by increasing taxes, if this data is correct!! Harvard University says that over 16.7 million families earn more than $100,000 a year and have a value of over $500,000...that does not mean they are taxed on that value! What % would that be? At the same time, over 12 million families live in poverty and one in five children live in poverty! (This from a book review that you will find here... http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/...
It seems to me that Rangel and other Dems trying to reorder the tax code should talk about things other than 'tax increases!' The language needs to be altered....talk instead about 'tax readjustments' based on fairness and ability to pay! Why should the Dems let the Repubs get away with controlling the language!!
And let's talk about taxes. I noticed this summer when a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, people were outraged. Well, it's TAXES that pay for these things! Let's talk about what our taxes 'buy' us. Let's talk about what we're 'buying' in Iraq! Let's talk about what that little war is costing us....I found a source that says it could rise to 2.4 trillion!! http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/... And every time we turn around we hear that Bush is asking for more!
Well, these sums are more than the average American brain can wrap itself around, so let's put it in terms we can understand. Well, True Majority has a neat little graphic that illustrates the concept pretty well, comparing what is spent on the Pentagon vs. Head Start, Education, children's health care, etc. They also compare what Russia and others spend vs what we spend! Check it out at http://truemajority.org/...
So, when the Repubs scream 'tax increase' pay attention! They are talking about a very small percentage of American taxpayers and those who earn considerably MORE than the average American!! They are interested in maintaining the tax cuts for the wealthy that they have scored over the past 7 years!! Don't let them fool you! YOU aren't a FOOL, are you? So, let's rethink taxes and what they buy! And let's put some equity back into the tax code!!