Obama’s Tax Plan
Tagged with: Obama • Political
I keep hearing the word redistribution every time I hear anyone republican talk about Obama’s tax plan. So I decided to look into where this comes from. Basically it works like this (so say republican sources), Obama is going to tax the rich at a higher rate, and give tax cuts to those not paying anything in taxes already. Thus redistribution of the wealth of the rich.
Well I thought this still sounded strange to me so I looked and did some simple Google searching to find some information. Here’s one source I found that is old, but still does a great job of explaining Obama’s plan which hasn’t changed since he started running for president.
His plan means billions in breaks by nixing income taxes for the 7 million senior citizens making less than $50,000 a year, establishing a universal credit for the 10 million homeowners who do not itemize their deductions — most of whom make less than $50,000 annually — and providing 150 million Americans with tax cuts of up to $1,000.
“I’d reward work by providing an income tax cut of up to $500 per person — or $1,000 for each working family — to offset the payroll tax that they’re already paying,” he said.
Did you catch that? You should of, I highlighted it for you… 
Each Bush election we heard how his tax plan was to cut taxes for the lower class so they wouldn’t pay a dime. But what Bush failed to mention was those are income taxes he is cutting (which for a family making under $50,000 already was very low) not payroll taxes (which at the same election time either 00 or 04 were higher than the payroll).
So while it sounds like Obama is a “redistributionist”, he is really just trying to help people offset their payroll taxes with a greater tax cut. And this cut is going to families that work, not those that sit on their ass and collect welfare.
But what about those taxes on the rich…
Obama also said he would repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
“At a time when Americans are working harder than ever, we are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we’re taxing gains for investors,” Obama said. “We’ve lost the balance between work and wealth.”
We are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we’re taxing gains from investors. Seems to me like that is a balance out of wack. Why? Because few people in lower and middle classes prosper from the current model.
Obama proposes funding the tax cuts by closing corporate loopholes, cracking down on international tax havens and increasing the dividend-and-capital-gains tax for the wealthy, he said.
He called his proposal a “fair” alternative to the present tax code and said it was necessary because hard times on Main Street translate to hard times on Wall Street.
“When the changes in our economy are leaving too many people behind, the competitiveness of our country risks falling behind,” he said. “When that dream of opportunity is denied to too many Americans, then ultimately that pain has a way of trickling up.”
If you want to see what Obama himself says about his plan: Obama’s official claim on his website.
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