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The Spectacle Blog
And four-fifths of typical, normal, average people believe government seizes too much of their income. But three-quarters of the political class thinks current tax levels are just fine, thank you very much for their salaries, grants, and other forms of liberal welfare.
According to Rasmussen Reports:
When thinking about all the services provided by federal, state and local governments, 75% of voters nationwide say the average American should pay no more than 20% of their income in taxes. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters (55%) believe the average American actually pays 30% or more of their income in taxes.
Sixty-six percent (66%) believe that America is overtaxed. Only 25% disagree.
Lower income voters are more likely than others to believe the nation is overtaxed.
Not surprisingly, the tax issue provokes a wide gap between the Political Class and Mainstream Americans. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Mainstream American voters believe the nation is overtaxed, while 74% of those in the Political Class disagree (see more about the Political Class and Mainstream Americans).
If Americans really believe they are overtaxed, they have an obvious remedy come November. If they don’t exercise their power to vote the bums out of office, they have no one to blame but themselves.
View all comments (23) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Doug Bandow
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/04/11/two-thirds-of-americans-say-th
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Bob the Engineer| 4.11.10 @ 10:26AM
As Milton Friedman said the tax burden is not what the IRS collects but what the government spends. Given that the American people are overtaxed by at least $1.6 trillion this year. The situation is really worse because of all the off budget spending.
Oldefarte| 4.11.10 @ 11:30AM
'OVERTAXED' cannot be discussed without consideration of sales, property, gasoline, excise, export, import,etc taxes. All of these must be combined in order to determine the true total tax burden upon taxpayers. Americans are simply taxed TO DEATH and UPON DEATH! Correspondingly, government [the recipient of taxes] WASTE TOO MUCH MONEY on EXCREMENT. Welfare to lifetime supported governmental supported families; foreign aid to foreign dictators who steal deposit same into their personal Swiss bank accounts; farm aid to mega-wealthy farmers; corporate aid to politically favored defense contractors,etc ; governmental payments to Acorn type partisaned organizations; etc, and the list goes on and on. IT NOW [OR WAY PAST] TIME TO STOP THE OVER-TAXIATION OF AMERICANS AND TO PLACE OUR GOVERNMENTS UPON A FISCAL DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim Hlavac | 4.11.10 @ 12:39PM
"Lower income voters are more likely than others to believe the nation is overtaxed."
If this statement by Rasmussen is true then it is perhaps one of the best openings for the Republicans to whittle away at the Democratic base: the Elephants should ride roughshod over the Donkeys by pointing out that it is the Democrats who want to make Burros out of us all and carry loads way too heavy to bear through endless taxation. Oldfarte is right in a way -- while the "poor" don't pay income taxes they are taxed in a multitude of ways limned by O.F. This is fallow ground in which to lay seeds of tax-revolt by voting Democrats out of office. Hop to it Republicans -- wade into the low income neighborhoods while asking "Are you taxed enough yet? -- If no, vote Democratic!"
Ken (OldTexican)| 4.11.10 @ 12:50PM
Screw the Tax rate bitching!
People, in our past we had much higher tax rates than we do now. THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE!
The real issue is...and what burns my butt...is that our own money is being taken and used to build a government monstrosity to enslave us.
...OUR OWN DAMNED EARNINGS!
We are financing these communists, (pardon the shorthand), efforts at putting us under their boot-heels.
If that doesn't piss you off...then you are a little slow on the uptake.
We gotta' starve the beast!
I don't know how.
Our first shot.......... short of a national strike, seems to be November 2010 elections. We need to send folks to DC...and our State capitols... committed to that.
Whatever tactics we use, we MUST de-fang/de-fund ...the beast...and right the hell now!
Oldefarte| 4.11.10 @ 2:51PM
Yea, Ken, I'm with you 150%; but as I recall, it all started [in my lifetime] with [I presume] ONE OF YOUR OWN! I'm referring to Lyndon Baines Johnson and his ramming down the throats of taxpayers his GREAT SOCIETY [welfare] programs of which are still on the government's books and which we're still paying for in 2010 [what's that 50 years?????]. Talk about a Southern triator and sticking the taxpayers' heads in the governmental toilet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jamie| 4.11.10 @ 3:57PM
OF, where do you live? Care to share with us some of the political monstrosities YOU'VE sent to Washington DC? Seems only fair since you're holding Ken responsible for LBJ!
Long Ben| 4.11.10 @ 1:45PM
I work in Natural Gas and earn what I consider a pretty good wage , my wife works about 35 hours
a week for $10 an hour . Yet we are in the ( tax
bracket , the top tax bracket under President Reagan . This is immoral. Bracket creep is a Bi-atch , and it is only going to get worse with the nihilistic Fed kiting the money supply , especially
if the Demoncats are not extirpated from power , and if Republicans don't see the danger and grow a set.
Lazy Jack | 4.11.10 @ 2:36PM
With the deficit spending this year, total government spending as a percent of GDP is nearing 45%. This includes federal, state, local and all deficit spending. For those of you inclined to do the math, someone will pay for it all. That means us. All the good intentions and obfuscation in the world cannot hide the fact that increases in government spending (and the associated confiscation of private resources through taxation) reduce GDP and therefore make our nation poorer. Leaps in technology and related productivity improvements can only offset the inevitable mathematical truism that government has a negative multiplier effect on the economy, especially after the so-called periods of 'stimulus.'
But, let's be happy, and pay our patriotic 45%. Those people in there 20s now will be thanking us when they try to retire with their social security "savings" and the social security administration says "NON!"
In other words, the tax we pay today will never be enough, so get ready for more.
Nice going.
Best,
Lazy Jack
http://thanksforthelaughs.word.....9/lullaby/
http://thanksforthelaughs.word.....expansion/
Floyd Looney | 4.11.10 @ 3:26PM
How many of the people who think taxes are "just fine" don't pay any income tax?
D.| 4.11.10 @ 4:00PM
Too many.
Bill,from WV| 4.11.10 @ 3:48PM
My suggestion is everyone go to their employer get a W4 and increase their legal exemptions to the maximum allowed.
Bank that money in a savings account for a year gaining interest and pay when you have to.
That keeps Obama from misusing it, and when the money runs out for all these entitlement programs, guess who the people who have been getting them are going to come after?
That's right! There will be a lot of vacant seats in Congress, because those people won't like being told there is no more money for you!
All it takes is those who foot the bill, to quit paying the bill!
And that time is coming!
MRD
D| 4.11.10 @ 4:03PM
The Thieves in Office will find new ways to get around the deductions... they always do.
James| 4.11.10 @ 5:33PM
That is all very well and good, but talk is cheap. We all need to convince as many voters as we can before the next election or we are lost. A growing percentage of Americans either pay little tax or they make a profit at tax time.
We are slowly being domesticated like cattle or dogs.
SoCon| 4.11.10 @ 6:41PM
Or frogs in a slowly heating pot. I'm feeling the heat, aren't you?
Tony Smith| 4.11.10 @ 8:15PM
Try a little REALITY in your next post on this subject. http://dissentingjustice.blogs.....ed-or.html
Smith| 4.11.10 @ 9:18PM
MBT mbt
The Boys of Galway| 4.11.10 @ 9:50PM
The public has a better sense of where we are headed than bozos like the "yes man justice" who provide cover for the corporatist crooks. It is nice to see that public is no mood for any more taxes as Obama tries to build for a VAT. The middle class is right to be worried about the creeps in Washington. At the end of the day they are the ones who will have to pay. The yes man is a static thinker. Our ridiculous government just added another entitlement when they don't have the faintest idea how they are going to pay for the ones we already have. If they take all the money from the rich they can't pay for this. It is ironic to have Black men trying to make slaves of us all. Pathetic.