This is ridiculous. The media has been obsessing about President Obama's plan to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans—from 35% to 39.6%—even asking if that makes him a socialist.1
But do you know what tax rate the wealthiest Americans paid on the top portion of their earnings at the end of Ronald Reagan's first term? 50%.
Under Richard Nixon? 70%. Under Dwight Eisenhower? 91%!
Shocking, right?
And for all the whining about rolling back Bush's irresponsible tax cuts, the truth is that Obama's plan cuts taxes for 95% of working Americans. Further, it closes huge tax loopholesfor oil companies, hedge funds and corporations that ship jobs overseas so that we can invest in the priorities that will get our economy back on track.2
We saw a great chart in The Washington Monthly3 that shows just how absurd Republican complaints about Obama's budget are. Check it out and pass it on:
Thanks for all you do.
–Daniel, Eli, Laura, Matt and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "A socialist? Obama calls back to insist no," The International Herald Tribune, March 8, 2009 http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/08/america/barack.php
2. "Tax Cuts," The New York Times, February 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/washington/27web-tax.html
3. "Soaking the Rich (Redux)," The Washington Monthly, March 8, 2009 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51234&id=15734-8048292-PfP63ex&t=2
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