Heaven help us. Heaven help Scott Brown. A real live Statist is running for Senate against Scott Brown. Listen to this rant by Elizabeth Warren to a group of her adoring fans. She’s a darling of the left, and I can see why. She claims that all good things are paid for by high taxes on the poor and middle class. Everything bad is ordered by the rich who get a free ride on “us”. I am beside myself watching this video. Thanks to lefty Eschaton for the pointer. He likes it. I can see why.
Everything bad we have ever done was because of Bush. There is nothing done wrong since Obama came to power. Then she says that the rich have to pay more taxes. No news there, but is she implying they don’t today? Or that the Tea Party wants the elimination of all government, including police, firemen, and all roads?
If anyone asks about the rich paying their fare share, tell them Greg Mankiws recommendation:
With all the rhetoric floating around regarding the “Buffett rule,” it might be worth trying extra hard to keep an eye on the facts. Here is the progressivity of the current tax system, according to the Tax Policy Center. If you can remember only one fact, make it this one: The middle class (middle quintile) pays 14.1 percent of its income in federal taxes, while the rich (top tenth of one percent of the population) pay 30.4 percent
In other words the rich pay on average about twice the rate that the middle group pays. And they pay it on a higher amount.
Or go to Veronique De Rugy’s charts on the Corner on National Review.
She says:
As you can see, the top 1 percent of earners (a household income above $380,000) shoulder 38 percent of personal federal income taxes and make only 20 percent of income. The top 5 percent of income earners pay almost 60 percent of income taxes and make under 35 percent of all personal income.
One important reason why the bottom 50 percent doesn’t pay much income tax is because lawmakers have decided to pay for social programs though the tax code and most of these people are either relatively poor or really poor.
This one sums it up nicely:
But of course it’s always more fair for someone else to pay more taxes, and for me to pay less. Go make the other guy pay more, so I get more free stuff from the government, who does no wrong.
