I came across this site...
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"As I See It"
By Mark Lindsay
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I Don't Hate Rich People
By Mark Lindsay
06-30-03
Email - MSL1570@Yahoo.com
Let's get this out in the open
right now. I am not rich.
Never have been, never will be.
At certain points in my life I have
been more comfortable than
others but never rich. Currently,
my wife and I are entrenched in
the middle class. And considering
my wife only works part time
so she can stay home with our
daughter, I do not see that changing
much. Who knows, if I make the
career change I've been pondering
we will probably drop to the lower
end of the middle class. Now,
let me just make sure we are
clear on one other thing. I do
not hate rich people. Never have,
never will. I might be envious
of them at times but never hateful
towards them. Let us quickly
review: A.) I am not rich and
B.) I do not hate rich people.
Now that we have that cleared
up, I need to ask a question.
Why do the opponents of President
Bush's tax cuts insist on trying
to make me hate the wealthy?
Let me lay out some facts for
you and maybe you will see
why I am having trouble
understanding the logic of the
tax cut opponents.
According to CCH Incorporated,
a leader in tax law since 1913,
states that based on preliminary
IRS statistics for 2000, taxpayers
earning more than $200,000 in
adjusted gross income paid 45
percent of all federal income taxes.
The best part of that statistic is
that taxpayers with an adjusted
gross income over $200,000
made up only 2 percent of all
taxpayers in 2000. On the other
end of the spectrum are those
earning less than $15,000 in
adjusted gross income. In the
year 2000 they accounted for
30 percent of total tax returns
while they paid less than one
percent of the total tax paid.
For those of you that do not
understand this, read it again.
If it still doesn't sink in, read
it again. Keep reading the damn
paragraph until you understand it.
Those statistics do not seem to
be that difficult to understand but
they must be because people
of all shapes and sizes keep
reciting the mantra. Come on,
say it with me. "These are tax
cuts for the rich. President Bush
is only trying to help his buddies
in big business."
They are tax cuts for the
taxpayers! The bottom 30 percent
of taxpayers paid less than one
percent of the total taxes in 2000.
Less than one percent. ONE PERCENT!
How can you cut something that
is nearly non-existent? In most
cases, those of you in the bottom
thirty percent of wage earners are
receiving a check back from the
government as part of the earned
income tax credit. That's right.
Not only are you not paying taxes
but you are actually receiving a
check back from the government.
After President Bush's most recent
tax cuts passed, there was a huge
outcry once word spread that
wage earners on the bottom
of the scale were not going to
receive a refund check. This
really cannot get any simpler
without being laughable. How
can you refund something that
wasn't paid? Yet the
Republicans were scared
stiff at the prospect of being
portrayed as heartless bastards
by the Democrats so they caved
in and supported a "tax cut"
for the low end of wage earners.
Let's be honest though. That
check should be called a welfare
check not a tax refund check.
It is a welfare check pure and
simple. I am fine with a controlled
welfare system. Give them their
welfare check if that's what you
decide to do. But call it what it
is, a welfare check.
CCH incorporated also provides
some startling data to support
their explanation of the tax laws.
In one table, it shows a sample
moderate income family of four
earning $40,000. After standard
deductions and credits, the
tax due based on the 2002 laws
would be around $1100. With
the accelerated implementation
of the 2001 tax law so that all
of the remaining benefits were
realized immediately, as
President Bush's 2003 tax cut
package calls for, the family
above would have to pay
approximately $70, or $120 if
the retirement savings credit
vanished, as it is scheduled to
after 2006.
Now let's look at CCH
Incorporated's data for a
sample high income family
of four earning $250,000.
After their standard deductions
and credits, the tax due
based on the 2002 laws would
be over $40,000. Seems a bit
high to me. Actually it stunned
me. Now, if we accelerated all
of the tax laws as we did in the
first example, this family's total
tax due drops to a touch over
$36,000.
I know this is a lot of math
to digest but let me quickly
summarize the facts. The
mean, nasty Bush administration
passed a new tax law in
2001 that will drop taxes on
the sample high income
family above from 16 percent
of their total pre-401(k)
income ($40,000 out of $250,000)
to a little under 14.5 percent
(36,000 out of $250,000) if
we accelerate the implementation
of the law so it is in full effect
in 2003. Meanwhile, the same
mean, nasty Bush administration
would drop the sample moderate
income family above from just
under 3 percent ($1100 out of $40,000)
to just under two-tenths of
one percent ($70 out of $40,000).
Oh the horror!
So this all brings me back to
why I should hate rich people.
If you listen to the rhetoric from
the left, you would think that
rich people are evil,
Frankenstein-like people.
The Democratic National
Committee is even circulating
an animated email portraying
Bush as "Bushenstein". I just
don't make the connection.
Why does my family, as a
moderate income family, not
have an obligation to pay our
fair share of taxes? Why should
families making over
$250,000 be responsible for
taking care of me? The rich
are vilified for their use of tax
shelters. You might be
interested to know that one
of the most popular tax shelters
in use today by the wealthy
in this country is low-income
housing. Take those shelters
away and who is going to invest
in a money losing proposition
such as low-income housing?
That's all right, all of the low-income
housing residents can just live
out on the streets. And here's a
newsflash for you. Rich people
spend money. They spend a lot
of money. Have you ever seen a
rich person's house? Pretty big,
right? They don't sit in their
basement like Mr. Scrooge hording
all of their money. With the
exorbitant estate tax rates, what
good would that do? It would all
go to the government when they die.
So they buy stuff. They invest in
companies. They are indirectly
responsible for funding the
income that we earn as moderate
and low income people.
That is the problem here.
Everyone is so quick to jump
up and scream for their share
of someone else's money. People
do not think before they speak
though. Think it through or you
might be sorry when you get what
you wished for. Nothing in life
is easy so stop looking for the
easy way out.
*NOTE:
THE FIGURES INCLUDED IN THIS COLUMN CAN BE OBTAINED BY GOING
TO toolkit.cch.com.
ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE QUALITY OF THIS COLUMN WAS MY LOVELY WIFE
WHO HAPPENS TO BE A C.P.A. |
