what’s government ever done for me? azspot: Lee Judge
I had this convo with a cab driver a couple weeks ago Democrats’ inability to inform the public that the stimulus plan cut taxes in a big way should go down as one of their biggest political screw-ups in recent years. Barack Obama felt it necessary, during the State of the Union address, to spend a big chunk of time hammering home the fact that his party cut taxes. And PolitiFact recently decided it had to to check David Axelrod’s claim that the Democrats passed 25 tax cuts last year without the help of Republicans. (PolitiFact has a list of all the tax cuts—they rated the claim ”true.”) Both of these events are signs that the fact that the Democrats cut taxes has not sunk in to Americans’ psyches. It’s not common knowlege. If it were, would the Tea Partiers be talking about how they’re “Taxed Enough Already?” Well, probably. But they’d at least be challenged on that. [via:mikehudack:southpol:Mother Jones]

I had this convo with a cab driver a couple weeks ago

Democrats’ inability to inform the public that the stimulus plan cut taxes in a big way should go down as one of their biggest political screw-ups in recent years. Barack Obama felt it necessary, during the State of the Union address, to spend a big chunk of time hammering home the fact that his party cut taxes. And PolitiFact recently decided it had to to check David Axelrod’s claim that the Democrats passed 25 tax cuts last year without the help of Republicans. (PolitiFact has a list of all the tax cuts—they rated the claim ”true.”) Both of these events are signs that the fact that the Democrats cut taxes has not sunk in to Americans’ psyches. It’s not common knowlege. If it were, would the Tea Partiers be talking about how they’re “Taxed Enough Already?” Well, probably. But they’d at least be challenged on that.

[via:mikehudack:southpol:Mother Jones]

Americans’ Tax Burden Near Historic Low (WaPo) kenyatta: As thousands of anti-tax protesters rallied across the nation yesterday and the president promised tax cuts for most, new data showed that the federal income tax burden is already hovering near its lowest level in three decades for all but the wealthiest Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the average family forked over barely 9 percent of its earnings to the IRS in 2006, the most recent year for which information is available. The effective tax rate hit its all-time low in 2003 and has since crept up only slightly. Middle-class families — to whom President Obama has delivered even more tax relief since he took office in January — have fared especially well, according to the CBO. The middle fifth of taxpayers, who earned an average of $60,700 per household in 2006, paid just 3 percent in federal income tax that year, down from a high of 8.3 percent in 1981.

Americans’ Tax Burden Near Historic Low (WaPo)

kenyatta:

As thousands of anti-tax protesters rallied across the nation yesterday and the president promised tax cuts for most, new data showed that the federal income tax burden is already hovering near its lowest level in three decades for all but the wealthiest Americans.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the average family forked over barely 9 percent of its earnings to the IRS in 2006, the most recent year for which information is available. The effective tax rate hit its all-time low in 2003 and has since crept up only slightly.

Middle-class families — to whom President Obama has delivered even more tax relief since he took office in January — have fared especially well, according to the CBO. The middle fifth of taxpayers, who earned an average of $60,700 per household in 2006, paid just 3 percent in federal income tax that year, down from a high of 8.3 percent in 1981.