April 14, 2010
by Source
April 15th marks the first year of the Tea Party Tax Day protests, brought to you by Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Rick “Let’s Have a Tea Party” Santelli. The original purpose was to protest “high taxes and big government”.
On Thursday, a reprise is scheduled to take place across the country, but I can’t help but wonder exactly what they’re protesting. This page lists the average tax cuts for the nation, and then breaks them down by state.
Overall, everyone got a little piece of the tax cut pie this year. In Arizona, home of newly-conservative John McCain and the even more conservative John Kyl, the average combined tax cut was -$1,023. In Oklahoma, that state threatening to declare war on overtaxation, the average tax cut was -$1,098. In Alaska, -$1,096.
98% of working families received a tax cut in this country.
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February 20, 2010
by Dave Rice
“Perfectly Legal” by David Cay Johnston and “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” by Thomas Frank – great starting points on what’s f’ed up with our current tax system and why the wealthy have been able to sell a good chunk of the middle class on keeping things in their current atrocious state. I’ll lend either to anyone who’s interested, wouldn’t mind swinging by to pick them up, and promises to either return them or pass them on to someone else.
Class warfare isn’t about rich vs. poor, it’s about middle class vs. poor. The people who are truly rich don’t really care one way or another, they have enough for themselves and that’s all that matters. Look at Barron Hilton – he’s ran the hotel chain his family built into the ground but he’s got enough money that he’ll never run out and his kids don’t even have to bother trying to make anything of themselves ever. And if (shudder) they have kids, same deal.
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