Cross-posted at Winning Progressive
Meet Michael McCallister, CEO of Humana health insurance company. Mr. McCallister is different from you and me. In 2008, he received a salary of $1,017,038 and total compensation of $4,764,309. The year before, he received more than $10 million in total compensation. His compensation package included use of a company jet and contributions into a presumably very well funded retirement account. By contrast, median household income in the U.S. is only approximately $50,000 per year.
Another way that Mr. McCallister is different from you and me is the way that he would be treated under the competing tax plans being proposed by President Obama and the Republicans. In a rousing speech today on the economy in Cleveland today, President Obama made clear that he believes in providing tax relief to the 98% of Americans who make less than $250,000 per year, but is not willing to add $700 billion to our nation’s debt in order to provide even further tax cuts to the richest 2%. By contrast, Republicans want to make sure that folks like Mr. McCallister receive another $103,000 per year in tax cuts, even if pushing for that denies tax relief to the other 98% of us.
Our President explained this key distinction between the two parties in his speech today:
I’ll give you one final example of the differences between us and the Republicans, and that’s on the issue of tax cuts. Under the tax plan passed by the last administration, taxes are scheduled to go up substantially next year. Now, I believe we ought to make the tax cuts for the middle class permanent. These families are the ones who saw their wages and incomes flatline over the last decade – and they deserve a break. And because they are more likely to spend on basic necessities, this will strengthen the economy as a whole.
But the Republican leader of the House doesn’t want to stop there. Make no mistake: he and his party believe we should also give a permanent tax cut to the wealthiest two percent of Americans. With all the other budgetary pressures we have – with all the Republicans’ talk about wanting to shrink the deficit – they would have us borrow $700 billion over the next ten years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 to folks who are already millionaires. These are among the only folks who saw their incomes rise when Republicans were in charge. And these are folks who are less likely to spend the money, which is why economists don’t think tax breaks for the wealthy would do much to boost the economy.
So let me be clear to Mr. Boehner and everyone else: we should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer. We are ready, this week, to give tax cuts to every American making $250,000 or less. For any income over this amount, the tax rates would go back to what they were under President Clinton. This isn’t to punish folks who are better off – it’s because we can’t afford the $700 billion price tag. And for those who claim that this is bad for growth and bad for small businesses, let me remind you that with those tax rates in place, this country created 22 million jobs, raised incomes, and had the largest surplus in history.
The President’s position is right on the merits – at a time of economic and budgetary problems, adding another $700 billion to the debt in order to give an extra $103,000 per year to millionaires makes no sense. The President’s position is also good politics, as it is supported by 56% of Americans, and demonstrates whose side the Democrats are on.
Do you support President Obama’s effort to provide tax relief to 98% of Americans, while restoring tax rates for the richest 2% to the level they were under President Clinton? If so, let your neighbors know by writing a letter to your local newspaper editor.
