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Why the '47 percent' is so large
A few months ago, Richard Mourdock, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Indiana, complained, "You know this past April, when our federal taxes were paid, 47 percent -- 47 percent -- of all American households paid no income tax." The far-right candidate equated the 53 percent vs. the 47 percent to the Civil War.
It's a strikingly familiar complaint. Though Mitt Romney's bizarre comments at a closed-door fundraiser, in which he chastised the 47 percent as lazy parasites, is obviously something of a scandal today, we know that Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor, and others have raised related complaints.
It's worth pondering the irony of far-right Republican politicians -- ostensibly the most anti-tax major political party on the planet -- looking at nearly half of the United States and thinking their tax burdens aren't nearly big enough. But it's also worth asking a related question: how did we reach the point at which 47 percent of the country has no federal income tax burden at all?
We talked earlier about the folks who fall into this category: seniors who've left the workforce, Americans with disabilities who can't work, students who have not yet entered the workforce, millions of low-income families, and middle-class families who take advantage of tax credits Republicans have traditionally supported. But that last part is of particular interest: GOP policymakers have helped expand the 47 percent on purpose, so there's no real point to them whining about it now.
Ezra Klein had a good piece on this: "Part of the reason so many Americans don't pay federal income taxes is that Republicans have passed a series of very large tax cuts that wiped out the income-tax liability for many Americans. That's why, when you look at graphs of the percent of Americans who don't pay income taxes, you see huge jumps after Ronald Reagan's 1986 tax reform and George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. So whenever you hear that half of Americans don't pay federal income taxes, remember: Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush helped build that."
In other words, as far as Republican governance is concerned, the 47 percent "problem" is a feature, not a bug. Romney may have contempt for these people, and perceive them as lazy moochers, but in recent decades, the GOP mainstream believed the exact opposite.
When we talk about policies Republicans supported before the radicalization of the party -- the DREAM Act, economic stimulus, cap-and-trade, an individual health care mandate, campaign-finance disclosure -- we can add this to the list.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/18/13939133-why-the-47-percent-is-so-large?lite
It's a strikingly familiar complaint. Though Mitt Romney's bizarre comments at a closed-door fundraiser, in which he chastised the 47 percent as lazy parasites, is obviously something of a scandal today, we know that Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor, and others have raised related complaints.
It's worth pondering the irony of far-right Republican politicians -- ostensibly the most anti-tax major political party on the planet -- looking at nearly half of the United States and thinking their tax burdens aren't nearly big enough. But it's also worth asking a related question: how did we reach the point at which 47 percent of the country has no federal income tax burden at all?
We talked earlier about the folks who fall into this category: seniors who've left the workforce, Americans with disabilities who can't work, students who have not yet entered the workforce, millions of low-income families, and middle-class families who take advantage of tax credits Republicans have traditionally supported. But that last part is of particular interest: GOP policymakers have helped expand the 47 percent on purpose, so there's no real point to them whining about it now.
Ezra Klein had a good piece on this: "Part of the reason so many Americans don't pay federal income taxes is that Republicans have passed a series of very large tax cuts that wiped out the income-tax liability for many Americans. That's why, when you look at graphs of the percent of Americans who don't pay income taxes, you see huge jumps after Ronald Reagan's 1986 tax reform and George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. So whenever you hear that half of Americans don't pay federal income taxes, remember: Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush helped build that."
In other words, as far as Republican governance is concerned, the 47 percent "problem" is a feature, not a bug. Romney may have contempt for these people, and perceive them as lazy moochers, but in recent decades, the GOP mainstream believed the exact opposite.
When we talk about policies Republicans supported before the radicalization of the party -- the DREAM Act, economic stimulus, cap-and-trade, an individual health care mandate, campaign-finance disclosure -- we can add this to the list.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/18/13939133-why-the-47-percent-is-so-large?lite
brice. I agree with you actually but if you have never watched her, I would highly recommend her, and you can always factcheck her as you are right, she is a commentator. Sorry for messin with ya. lol
I have watched her a handful of times and truthfully, she is one of the best on MSNBC imo. She is great with sources as well.
I have watched her a handful of times and truthfully, she is one of the best on MSNBC imo. She is great with sources as well.
If you'll read what I said.... they all do it. That would include Limbaugh. I'm not going to defend him. I am simply saying that the lady is capable of lying. It happens....
I will check out the politifact one. I am not sure about a political wrinkles? Is that it? Now where is the list on Rush?
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/media/15910-rachel-maddow-caught-lying-republican-attack.html
It's really okay. This is what happens when one tries to impress an opinion as a fact.
It's really okay. This is what happens when one tries to impress an opinion as a fact.
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-wisconsin-track-have-budget-sur/
Well, there's this. It's no big deal though. She, just like the rest of them, tries to impress their opinion in a fashion that makes it look like a truth.
Well, there's this. It's no big deal though. She, just like the rest of them, tries to impress their opinion in a fashion that makes it look like a truth.
However, I dont think anyone thinks our current tax system doesnt suck.
So then. Lets put her to the test. Prove her wrong. If she is distorting or making things up, it would be pretty easy to prove it right? Sources anyone?
The only thing that makes her a liar is when she misrepresents the truth. Right off hand I do not have evidence of her doing this, but she... like everyone else in that business, has let her bias get in the way and has spewed her opinion as fact.
Maddow is the lefts/liberals Glenn Beck and Chris Matthews is the lefts Rush Limbaugh.
There. I said it. Let the onslaught begin.....
Maddow is the lefts/liberals Glenn Beck and Chris Matthews is the lefts Rush Limbaugh.
There. I said it. Let the onslaught begin.....
Like Rachel Maddow or not, she is nothing short of brilliant, from a very all-American upbringing.
She is a liberal but that does not make her a liar.
Rachel Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994.
At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship.
She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University.
Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons.
She began a radio career in Massachusetts, branched out to TV in 2005 and landed her show in 2008.
Her new book is entitled: Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power (Mar 27, 2012)
Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
Maddow has stated that her family is "very, very Catholic". She grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative."Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school.
She is a gun enthusiast.
She is a liberal but that does not make her a liar.
Rachel Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994.
At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship.
She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University.
Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons.
She began a radio career in Massachusetts, branched out to TV in 2005 and landed her show in 2008.
Her new book is entitled: Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power (Mar 27, 2012)
Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
Maddow has stated that her family is "very, very Catholic". She grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative."Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school.
She is a gun enthusiast.
I've lost myself again....
I'm lost.... why can't anyone from the republican party be outraged? Am I the only republican that thinks the current tax system sux?
"...Ezra Klein had a good piece on ..."
That statement, in and of itself, is fairly amusing.
Ezra Klein is a dolt.
***
That said, the current state of the Republican Party leaves much to be desired. They represent me less and less these days, on the whole.
I'm not an idiot quite yet, so I'll keep voting Republican, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to do so as the years go by.
That statement, in and of itself, is fairly amusing.
Ezra Klein is a dolt.
***
That said, the current state of the Republican Party leaves much to be desired. They represent me less and less these days, on the whole.
I'm not an idiot quite yet, so I'll keep voting Republican, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to do so as the years go by.
http://maddowblog...please she could not tell the truth if it slapped her in the face.
Our wealth distribution has been compared to Uganda's.
Thanks for the post.
I've watched the income gap widen ever since Regan's trickle down theory began. I saw streets become full of homeless people while Regan was president. I'm surprised so many think he did good things for this country, while my own eyes show me the opposite.
I've watched the income gap widen ever since Regan's trickle down theory began. I saw streets become full of homeless people while Regan was president. I'm surprised so many think he did good things for this country, while my own eyes show me the opposite.
So notice what happened here: Republicans have become outraged over the predictable effect of tax cuts they passed and are using that outrage as the justification for an agenda that further cuts taxes on the rich and pays for it by cutting social services for the non-rich.
That’s why Romney’s theory here is more than merely impolitic. It’s actually core to his economic agenda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/17/romneys-theory-of-the-taker-class-and-why-it-matters/
That’s why Romney’s theory here is more than merely impolitic. It’s actually core to his economic agenda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/17/romneys-theory-of-the-taker-class-and-why-it-matters/
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