The following exchange is from a Foxnews’ show. It’s a “fair and balanced” passion of Brit Hume (until recently, their anchor newsman). Speaking on Obama’s tax increases:
Hume: Well it’s just so dishonest because the top what, 2% of tax payers in this country pay something on the order of 40% of the taxes already. The top 5% pay 60% of the taxes already, income taxes. And the top 50% pay all but, you know they pay like 95% of the taxes. So most of the people in this country, most of the people pay almost, either no income taxes at all or almost none. That’s like half the income brackets. So the idea that the playing field is somehow tilted in favor of the few is bosh!
[…]
The share of income taxes paid by the higher income people over the years has not gotten smaller under the Republicans. It’s gotten larger. Why do you…
Williams: And why is that Brit? Because they’re earning more money.
[UPDATE: As immediately remarked by Daily Kos readers, Brit Hume refers exclusively to income taxes. Regular folks appear to catch up on payroll and consumption taxes.]
The really sad reason is, of course, that more and more Americans are earning less and less – in fact, so much more less that you can’t collect much [income] taxes from half of them.
The Reagan-style free economy is not great for most Americans, eventually. Bubbles and credit expansion can only hide the truth only for so long.
Even by then, was it difficult to see through the rosy numbers? Why does this graph have no political impact?
Here you can find more of telling statistics:
Real household incomes fell in 94% of the states (47 out of 50) in 1999-2005…
…families have the lowest rates of saving since 1929 and historic record debt ratios…
…families must work more months each year (than before) to pay all taxes…
…61% of married mothers of small children work – 6 times more than 11% in 1950…
…household debt ratios increased 90% faster than growth of the economy since the late 1960s…
…the median income of men in their 30s fell 12% from 1974 to 2004 when adjusted for inflation…
The economy cannot be great, if more and more people get inadequately less income to spend.
If you have a spare hour, watch this lecture by Elizabeth Warren; she teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. (Her talk starts at 4:50 mark.)
