This is ridiculous. The media has been obsessing about President Obama's plan to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans—from 35% to 39.6%—even asking if that makes him a socialist.1
But do you know what tax rate the wealthiest Americans paid on the top portion of their earnings at the end of Ronald Reagan's first term? 50%.
Under Richard Nixon? 70%. Under Dwight Eisenhower? 91%!
Shocking, right?
And for all the whining about rolling back Bush's irresponsible tax cuts, the truth is that Obama's plan cuts taxes for 95% of working Americans. Further, it closes huge tax loopholes for oil companies, hedge funds and corporations that ship jobs overseas so that we can invest in the priorities that will get our economy back on track.2
We saw a great chart in The Washington Monthly3 that shows just how absurd Republican complaints about Obama's budget are.
(Click to embiggen)
Sources:
1. "A socialist? Obama calls back to insist no," The International Herald Tribune, March 8, 2009
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/08/america/barack.php
2. "Tax Cuts," The New York Times, February 26, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/washington/27web-tax.html
3. "Soaking the Rich (Redux)," The Washington Monthly, March 8, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51234&id=15744-6102883-_0wr6_x&t=3
4 comments:
The Repugnants will do anything/say anything to complain about Obama.
They're a joke, and the more they whine and get nothing done, the longer their party will be in disarray.
Works for me.
Gorilla Boy is actually getting back the exact same amt. of money he paid for the gorilla costume - $177. Something cosmic in that but I don't know what.
I guess I will have to snail mail your gold star for research, biblio and all.
FP: instant karma huh? Add cleaning fluid and wave dry.
Bob: my republican friends are still claiming Obama was responsible for the AIE money back in the fall. I can't get over well educated people not wanting to see the truth.
very interesting stuff
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