The
odious "tax cuts for the rich" meme is a favorite battle cry of the
class warriors. The Bush tax cuts, we are repetitively told, favored
the wealthy. And Republicans, because they passed "tax cuts for the
rich," are for the 1%, while Democrats, who opposed those cuts, are for
the 99%.
Now come the Romney-Ryan team and their proposal for tax cuts. Mitt Romney characterizes his tax plan as follows: make a permanent, across-the-board 20-percent cut in marginal rates. In other words, he proposes a 20% tax cut for everyone who pays federal income taxes.
Everyone. Across the board.
President Obama and his fellow Democrats, sure as the sun came up this morning, call Romney's proposal "a tax cut for the rich." The president says that "the bulk of this tax cut would go to the very top ... a lot of it going to the wealthiest 1% of all households." The way the president puts it, it sounds really unfair. But is it? That depends on your point of reference, and your point of reference depends on the moral compass that guides you.
The federal tax code is complicated. To keep the math simple, I will make my point by using the easily understood principle of the tithe. The Lord's tithe is a very simple 10% of an earner's income. The tithe is like a flat tax with no deductions. It is the same percentage for everyone, no matter how much or how little he earns.
Now come the Romney-Ryan team and their proposal for tax cuts. Mitt Romney characterizes his tax plan as follows: make a permanent, across-the-board 20-percent cut in marginal rates. In other words, he proposes a 20% tax cut for everyone who pays federal income taxes.
Everyone. Across the board.
President Obama and his fellow Democrats, sure as the sun came up this morning, call Romney's proposal "a tax cut for the rich." The president says that "the bulk of this tax cut would go to the very top ... a lot of it going to the wealthiest 1% of all households." The way the president puts it, it sounds really unfair. But is it? That depends on your point of reference, and your point of reference depends on the moral compass that guides you.
The federal tax code is complicated. To keep the math simple, I will make my point by using the easily understood principle of the tithe. The Lord's tithe is a very simple 10% of an earner's income. The tithe is like a flat tax with no deductions. It is the same percentage for everyone, no matter how much or how little he earns.
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