COMMENTARY | Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in response to the State of the Union address by Barack Obama. President Obama discussed the "Buffett Rule," which says essentially that very wealthy people should shoulder a fair share of the nation's tax burden, according to CBS. Cantor attempted to sting Obama in his commentary -- but was Cantor's speech honest?
Warren Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, is said to have paid a higher tax rate than her billionaire boss, according to the Washington Post. Cantor claimed to "care about Warren Buffett's secretary," according to Politico. Cantor rhetoric then took a confusing turn by trying to pass the buck for his own party's policies and blame the tax inequality problem on the Obama Administration.
Let's take a quick look at the facts.
If you examine the tax history chart from the Tax Policy Center you can see what the highest tax rates have been since income taxes were established. The top tax rate has been exactly the same since the Bush tax cuts for tax year 2003. The Obama administration has not raised the marginal income tax level.
Here's another fact you can see: During the Reagan-Bush I era the highest tax rate dropped like a rock while the economy tanked. During the Clinton years it was raised a bit, and the economy prospered. During the Bush II era it dropped again, and look, what a shock -- the economy tanked.
If Buffett pays a lower tax rate than Bosanek it's not because Obama made her pay more. It's because right-wing administrations keep lowering the taxes, letting rich people pay less.
The lesson to be learned here is that a nation cannot prosper while the wealthy continue a class war against the poor and redistribute wealth from the poor to the rich by failing to pay their fair share.
If the Obama administration is to blame in any way for this situation it's by failing to raise taxes on the wealthy investor class to reverse the catastrophic harm caused by the unending efforts of the right wing to protect the rich.
veterans day oakland raiders carson palmer al davis edmund fitzgerald vincent brown vincent brown
No comments:
Post a Comment