Wingnut Brigade out in Force Today. Just Heard on NPR

[The Doctor.]

Caller; (paraphrased): 'Warren Buffet pays tax attorneys to find tax breaks. What Obama wants is crazy. He wants to redistribute the wealth.'

Host: 'From the rich to the p...'

Caller: 'From anyone who pays taxes. 47% Of Americans pay no taxes!'



That was no 'listener'.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. No, that was no 'listener'

That was a 'drinker' of the Kool Aid sort. Musta gotten a heads-up to call in to the show and catapult the propaganda.

[Bigmack]

2. 2/3rd of corporations pay no taxes either...

well... Federal Income taxes... which is the part the dumbshit on NPR omitted in his little brain-fart.

2/3rd of corporations pay no Federal Income taxes....

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/12/news/economy/corporate_taxes/

Let's tax the shit out of people and corporations that are barely afloat now.... that makes a lot of sense.

To a dumbshit.

[JuniperLea]

7. Since corporations are now people...

Perhaps they are part of that count.

[lpbk2713]

3. Q: What state was he calling from?

A: Denial.


:rofl:

[The Doctor.]

4. Ugh!

I'd go with 'ignorance'.

[MrNJ]

5. They denigrade the NPR

Yet they keep listening and calling.

It doesn't add up

[The Doctor.]

8. Yes, what strange creatures they must be.

Actually, they're not 'listeners' at all. They're propaganda proliferators either paid to spread bullshit or simply do it for fun.

Yes, they certainly 'denigrate' NPR, but not as callers.

[lpbk2713]

9. That might be like some internet message boards.

Some might be paid to call in and voice their faux indignation.


Ed: You beat me to it Doc. :thumbsup:

[The Doctor.]

12. Huh... you just might have something there.

I wonder how that might be directly applied to a, how did you say... 'mess-age board'?

[JuniperLea]

6. I keep hearing that talking point...

47% of Americans pay no taxes.

Huh... does that count those who are too young to work? Too old to work? Make too little to pay taxes? I know 2% of them don't... the top 2% wealth-holders.

I'm sure it's a bullshite meme... but wondering anyway.

[RC]

14. Does it count those that do not make enough to pay taxes in the first place?

How does outsourcing, rightsizing, Wisconsin, Rick Perry, etc. fit in all this?

[Swede Atlanta]

15. I haven't looked at the basis for the statistics but......

I'm going to go out on a limb and believe that the 47% is of those that are legally obligated to file taxes. Children with no income, for example, have no legal obligation to file a tax return. Seniors that make over the statutory limit must file.

But in these cases the individuals either make too little to be subject to taxation when their income is adjusted using exemptions and deductions. So we have made a decision as a matter of public policy that when your income falls below a certain line you are not liable for income taxes.

The wealthy and especially corporations have much more clout to get special deductions and tax "give-aways". So while they may be subject to a 39% marginal rate, their effective rate is much, much lower because of the "loopholes".

The ones getting royally screwed are the middle class that may at best qualify for standard deduction and some family exemptions but little else.

As for saying that 47% pay not taxes, nothing could be further from the truth. They may not pay income taxes but they pay a substantially larger percentage of their income in the form of sales and other consumption taxes. That is why the "Fair Tax" is anything but that.

The 47% figure is a red herring. Those of us on this site know that but the ones at Faux News either know it and continue to spout disinformation or are so stupid as to not understand this distinction.

[RedCloud]

10. How much taxes should babies pay anyway?

[The Doctor.]

11. Uhhh... well, given the math, I'd say anything would put them in a bracket of

Say... ∞% ?

[The Doctor.]

13. Apparently the caller really was a liar.

Buffet doesn't have 'people' find him loopholes.