Obama’s Tax Calculator
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You all know that I am not an Obama surrogate, but I will give credit where credit is due.
With a HEAVY DOSE of skepticism, I present the Obama Tax Calculator.
This calculator really makes a voter think. And, when you see how much money you might get back from an Obama administration, you really might feel compelled to vote for him. It’s a great marketing technique.
Based on mine and my wife’s income, filing jointly, a President Obama will ensure that I get $1000 more back on my taxes than the $100 he says I’ll get from a President McCain.
Believe it or not, I don’t really feel good about that. Not because I don’t want the money, but because I know where it comes from: those companies and investors that are providing jobs and employment for the rest of us.
Why should I be a recipient of their wealth? Of their hard work?
What did I do to deserve it?
Besides, if I take their money, doesn’t that mean they have less to continue investing, saving, researching, and developing?
It just kinda seems like, well, stealing.
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So when Reagan signed into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986, that lowered the top rate from 50% to 28% but raised the bottom from 11% to 15%, was that then just the wealthy stealing from the poor? And were estate tax cuts (since you likely didn’t benefit from them, but would eventually have to pay for them) stealing from you?
Our income tax structure is arguably the least progressive it has ever been since World War I. Income inequality in the US (as measured by the Gini coefficient) is roughly equal to that of Georgia and Turkmenistan, and makes us closer in wealth disparity to Iran than to Europe.
In the middle of skyrocketing deficits and two simultaneous wars, a proposal of raising the top marginal tax rate by 4.6%, resulting in a rate still less than half of what it was in the 1950s, is greeted by calls of socialism. This is the same 4.6% raise that was signed into law by Bush himself, and will happen without any intervention at all in 2011.
If what we’ve had recently is balanced, then we and our parents have been stealing exorbitantly from the wealthy for generations.
Are you serious, Jim? I’m no Robin Hood and I don’t hardly buy into this redistribution of wealth argument. But hearing anti-Obama folks tell it, you’d all of a sudden think that the uber-wealthy work harder than the rest of America (including our troops) and that they don’t make money off the backs of hardworking Americans. My guess is (and it’s just a guess) that those $1000 would help you more than it would hurt shady investors not to have it. Besides that, knowing what I know of you… you worked hard to have YOUR money back.
Since when are Republicans arguing that it’s a bad thing for hardworking Americans to get their money back? Smells a little bit like a bait-and-switch upon finding out a Democrat’s tax plan benefits middle-America more than the Republican’s plan.
Don’t get so excited, Jim. Obama/Biden suddenly dropped they’re definition of who’s rich enough to pay more taxes by 25% yesterday.
By January, who knows where it will be.
The flaw with the calculator - and I don’t know why the McCain folks don’t counter in this fashion.
1. you have to trust that a democrat is actually going to push this through - he’s not.
2. That’s great that I might get a tax break from the gov’t the problem is I’ll be paying more - much more if he taxes small businesses. When I call a plumber it’s currently $95/hour. If that plumber has to pay more taxes it’ll be $110/hour next year.
My prediction if Obama wins - 1st thing he’ll do on day one is say “we’re in much worse shape then I thought we were as a nation - I’m going to have to delay my plans to provide tax relief.” - ala Gov. Mark Warner.
So you’re basically advocating the “trickle down” theory of economics?
JR - take a look around, it doesn’t work. If a tiny percentage of the population has 70% of the country’s wealth, they’re going to keep it.
They are not going to generate jobs or wealth for America. They’ll spend their money on luxury items built overseas and hide their money in safe havens off shore. It they actually payed taxes on all that wealth and invested in American compaines it might work, but they won’t.
All I know is that Thelma Drake wants to increase my taxes to give Paris Hilton a tax cut.