Yes, 47% of Households Owe No Taxes. Look Closer.

[shmike]

I saw this article this morning and wondered how long it would take to make it here.

Shitty article with fuzzy math.

Yes, people pay tax when they purchase gas or shoes. Yes, almost everyone who has a job pays Medicare/SS tax.

The reality remains:

47% of US households will pay no FEDERAL INCOME tax. Period.

Apparently Mr. Leonhardt wants us to go back to the 70% top marginal bracket of the 70's and early 80's.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by shmike

I saw this article this morning and wondered how long it would take to make it here.

Shitty article with fuzzy math.

Yes, people pay tax when they purchase gas or shoes. Yes, almost everyone who has a job pays Medicare/SS tax.

The reality remains:

47% of US households will pay no FEDERAL INCOME tax. Period.

Apparently Mr. Leonhardt wants us to go back to the 70% top marginal bracket of the 70's and early 80's.

I suspect he doesn't thing 70% is high enough.

His "not always" argument about SS and Medicare paying out more than was paid in is pretty ridiculous too. If that wasn't the common situation both programs would have surpluses. They do not.

[Captain Morgan]

Eh, we should just stop all this goofing around with taxes and simply do a complete redistribution of wealth. Wonder how long it would take before the poor were poor again and the rich were rich again...