Here's another disconnect between Republican rhetoric and reality.
Just ahead of Tax Day, a new New York Times/CBS News poll finds that most Americans regard the income taxes that they will have to pay this year as fair, regardless of political partisanship, ideology or income level.
Sixty-two percent of all respondents in the poll said the income tax they have to pay is fair, while 30 percent called it unfair. That includes six in 10 Republicans and independents and just over two-thirds of Democrats – a display of cross-party agreement rarely seen on any topic. It also includes most liberals, moderates and conservatives.
Majorities across all income groups, moreover, called their income tax fair. Sixty-two percent of Americans in households earning $50,000 or less said so, as did the same percentage of people in households earning more.
The tea partiers might be the loudest squeaky wheels about taxes, but they aren't speaking for a majority, even among Republicans. And after completing their taxes this year, most Americans are going to be as happy with their tax bill (or refund) as possible. But just to reinforce that point, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer blogged about the tax relief for the middle class resulting from health reform and the Recovery Act, writing
While some critics and media outlets may want to mislead the public, or cherry-pick provisions to give another impression, there is no debating the fact that making the tax code more fair for the middle class, and helping working families get through these tough economic times has been the central plank of the President’s agenda.