OBAMA V. NEW YORK
September 19, 2008 --
A good rule of thumb: Whenever a Democrat starts talking patriotism, reach for your wallet.
Case in point: Joe Biden.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee went into a flag-waving fury yesterday when asked how upper-income earners should react to his ticket's soak-the-rich tax plan.
"It's time to be patriotic," he said. "It's time to jump in; it's time to be part of the deal; it's time to get America out of the rut."
That's pure nonsense, of course - and not just because it comes from a pol who has "jumped in" by donating less than $400 a year (little more than one-tenth of one percent of his family income) to charity over the past decade.
After all, reasonable Americans can disagree about marginal tax rates without impugning each other's love of country.
Or, one wonders, will Americans be free to question the patriotism of President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden when their tax plan throws the country even deeper into economic crisis?
Sad to say, that's no idle speculation.
Just look at New York.
Obama's tax plan would impose new dividend and capital-gains taxes and repeal the Bush-era income-tax cuts on all Americans earning more than $250,000 a year. The local effect of those tax hikes is the subject of a study released this week by the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center.
It's not a pretty picture.
Obama's tax plan, the study found, would cost New Yorkers fully $16 billion a year - billions more than residents would get back through expanded tax credits.
It's not hard to see why. Obama's plan takes direct aim at Wall Street - the one section of the economy that can least afford it right now.
And the pain doesn't just fall on high-paid brokers (and the jobs they support), either. The dividend and capital-gains hikes are sure to send investment dollars fleeing into tax shelters, further choking the sputtering engines of finance.
Meanwhile, the study estimates, lost income from Obama's tax hikes would sap $1 billion a year from state tax coffers - and up to $285 million from the city.
Which means higher taxes for everyone.
What's so patriotic about that?
Obama and Biden, of course, are free to discuss their tax plan on its (dubious) merits.
But they'd do well to end the scolding game about its supposedly All-American virtue. It'd be offensive if it weren't so ridiculous.
No, wait: It's offensive anyway.
2 comments:
Ohhhhhhhhh so having the rich - over 250K - pay taxes is actually going to COST us little taxpayers BILLIONS....I see, so the only logical answer is to let the rich people keep the cuts and we little folks should keep paying....Let me watch Fox news with you next time so I can get brainwashed too. Go Obama
It was an article in the NY Post and I thought it was interesting. There is no reason to mock me OR to assume that I necessarily agree with the article. In fact I posted it because I personally found it to be outrageous as well.
If you have commentary that is constructive, please post it here, otherwise visit the other more snarky blogs if you have sarcastic comments.
Thank You.
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