The 400 Richest...

The 400 richest Americans used to pay 30% of their income on the average to Uncle Sam. Today, they pay 18% on the average, according to Steve Rattner, a Wall Street financier.

And those tax cuts have been in effect for over a decade now. And we were promised that these cuts would cause the "job creators" to create job and that prosperity would abound. Didn't happen.

Now the chorus is singing that if we roll back those tax breaks, we'll lose jobs and prosperity.

Crazy. And many fools believe it.

Where Your Taxes Go

A U.S. taxpayer earning the 2009 median income ($34,140) and paying $5,400 in federal income tax and FICA ponies up for the following, for starters:

Social Security $1040.70
Medicare $625.51
Medicaid $385.28
Interest on the national debt $287.03
Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan $229.17
Military personnel $192.79
Veterans benefits $74.65
Federal highways $63.89
Health-care research (NIH) $46.54
Foreign aid $46.08
Education funding for low-income K-12 students $38.17
Military retirement benefits $32.60
Pell Grants for low-income college students $29.75
NASA space program $28.09
Internal Revenue Service $17.69
Environmental cleanup (EPA) $11.67
FBI $11.21
Head Start $10.91
Public housing $10.50
National parks $4.27
Drug Enforcement Administration $3.14
Amtrak $2.23
Smithsonian Museum $1.12
Funding for the arts $0.24
Salaries and benefits for members of Congress $0.19




From Feb 2011 Reader's Digest

So This is What Socialism Looks Like?

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.

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%!

So Obama is more than 10% less socialist that Ronald Reagan, more than 30% less socialist than Tricky Dick, and more than 50% less socialist than good old Ike.

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.

Obama-Biden Tax Cut Calculator

Barack Obama will cut taxes for 95 percent of working families, and provide at least three times as much tax relief for middle class families as John McCain. The Obama/Biden plan provides $1,000 of tax relief for workers and new tax benefits to help families pay for college, childcare and save for retirement.

Click here to calculate your tax cut under the Obama/Biden plan.