September 26, 2011

Tax Demagogues Are Lying Liars, in One Graph

By Randall Hoven
The rich pay lower tax rates than we do.  Bush's tax cuts were only for the rich.  Both the Reagan and Bush tax cuts were sops to the rich.  Schmucks like you and me pay all the taxes so the rich can ride free. You hear these lies every day. In case you think I make these lies up, here are some examples. "Changes in tax rates have strongly favored the very, very rich." -Paul Krugman "Like Ronald Reagan, President Bush began his term in office with big tax cuts for the rich[.]" -Paul Krugman "We know, for instance, that taxes on the rich have fallen dramatically in recent decades." -Ezra Klein "The rich pay a huge share of the total taxes in the United States because they have a huge share of the money." -Matthew Yglesias "If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine -- most likely by a lot[.]  Back in the 1980s and 1990s,...(Read Full Article)