No, it wasn't a Dear John letter or anything to do with our wonderful relationship. She forwarded me a viral email from a vice president of Wachovia securities that made her, for the first time, question Obama's policies. "Is this all true?" she asked. "I'm worried about our finances". Like myself, my wife loves Obama and we have contributed both time and money to his campaign. In the 13 years we have been married, I have never doubted that she could be spooked by anything she received via email (and we have received plenty). What totally blew me away this morning is the effectiveness of this viral message and how it created "doubt" in her mind regarding Obama. The email had been forwarded to a long list of like minded friends. Now if my wife is starting to question Obama, then what is it doing to all of our friends. How is it possible that an email can have this effect?? I called XXX XXXXXX (I have removed name to protect identity of author), the "author" of the email at Wachovia to give me some answers. He assured me that he had not written this and that he had been fending off calls all morning. The poor man seemed genuinely despondent at being so thoroughly set up.
UPDATE: Thanks for the many suggestions. There is a nice rebuttal to this at Factcheck
No. A new e-mail being circulated about Obama's tax proposals is almost entirely false.
Alert readers may already have noted that this chain e-mail does not provide links to any of Obama's actual proposals or cite any sources for the claims it makes. That is because they are made up.This widely distributed message is so full of misinformation that we find it impossible to believe that it is the result of simple ignorance or carelessness on the part of the writer. Almost nothing it says about Obama's tax proposals is true. We conclude that this deception is deliberate.
Our own sources for the following are Obama's own Web site and other statements, interviews with Obama's policy advisers, and a comprehensive analysis of both the McCain and Obama tax plans produced by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, plus additional sources to which we have provided links.
end of update.
So how do we respond to this type of "virus". I would like to effectively respond to my friends and others. Could you help? Do you have some ideas or could you point me in the right direction? Here is THE EMAIL my wife and many friends received this morning.
INTERESTING DATA JUST RECEIVED ON TAXES
Spread the word.....
This is something you should be
aware of so you don't get blind-sided.
This is really going to catch a lot
of families off guard. It should
make you worry.
Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000
per home (couples) McCain does not
propose any change in existing
home sales income tax.
OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales
How does this affect you?
If you sell your home and make a profit, you
will pay 28% of your gain on taxes.
If you are heading toward retirement
and would like to down-size your
home or move into a retirement
community, 28% of the money you
make from your home will go to taxes. This
proposal will adversely affect the
elderly who are counting on the income
from their homes as part of their retirement income.
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6%
How will this affect you?
If you have any money invested in stock
market, IRA, mutual funds,
college funds, life insurance, retirement
accounts, or anything that pays
or reinvests dividends, you will now
be paying nearly 40% of the money
earned on taxes if Obama become president.
The experts predict that 'higher
tax rates on dividends and capital gains
would crash the stock market yet
do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA
(reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama your taxes will
more than double!
How does this affect you? No explanation
needed. This is pretty
straight forward.
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax
How does this affect you? Many families
have lost businesses,
farms and ranches, and homes
that have
been in their families
for generations because they could not
afford the inheritance tax.
Those willing their assets to loved
ones will not only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA
* New government taxes proposed on
homes that are more than
2400 square feet
* New gasoline taxes (as if
gas weren't high enough already)
* New taxes on natural resources
consumption (heating
gas, water, electricity)
* New taxes on retirement accounts
and last but not least....
* New taxes to pay for socialized medicine
so we can receive the same
level of medical care as other
third-world countries!!!
Thank You
I HAVE REMOVED THE NAME THAT WAS LISTED HERE