Leave Me Alone!

* Warning ... very long rant ahead ... I tried to avoid it but I just can't anymore. I wish I knew how to do one of those "read more" links to hide this ridiculously long post ... scroll down past it if you don't want to read it. =)

I really am tired of the election cycle...especially since it's been going for what...two years now!

But this chaps my hide (emphasis mine).

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody."

What THE HELL!?! That is called redistribution and it's WRONG...it's legalized THEFT by the government. And it absolutely DOES punish success, you stark raving lunatic moron. You clearly do NOT understand economics.

I do not work my butt off (basically I have two jobs...though one is arguable more fun) to have the government take my money and give it to someone else (which they already do too much). If I want to donate my money to those less fortunate that is MY choice to make. If I want to stick all my money in my mattress and sit on it that is also MY choice to make. Who the hell in government is going to decide who "deserves" my money more than me???

I really am starting to hate (okay, hate is a strong word...how about loathe?) "the Messiah". When he first started running I liked him well enough...not enough to vote for him because I knew even two years ago that he was too liberal and lacked experience. But the more we learn about him and his ideas the more he freaks me out. The idea of this neo-Marxist Socialist gasbag in office with no opposition (because the Dems will hold onto the majority in the House and Senate...it's pretty much a given) scares the ever loving pee out of me.

Have you fallen for the claim that you'll get a tax cut as long as you make less than $250,000? Or that 95% of the country will get a tax cut? Sorry...jokes on you. (link may require subscription but it's so important that I quote most of here anyway...emphasis added is mine)

It's a clever pitch, because it lets him pose as a middle-class tax cutter while disguising that he's also proposing one of the largest tax increases ever on the other 5%. But how does he conjure this miracle, especially since more than a third of all Americans already pay no income taxes at all? There are several sleights of hand, but the most creative is to redefine the meaning of "tax cut."

For the Obama Democrats, a tax cut is no longer letting you keep more of what you earn. In their lexicon, a tax cut includes tens of billions of dollars in government handouts that are disguised by the phrase "tax credit." ...

In other words, they are an income transfer -- a federal check -- from taxpayers to nontaxpayers. Once upon a time we called this "welfare,"...

The Tax Foundation estimates that under the Obama plan 63 million Americans, or 44% of all tax filers, would have no income tax liability and most of those would get a check from the IRS each year. The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis estimates that by 2011, under the Obama plan, an additional 10 million filers would pay zero taxes while cashing checks from the IRS.

Excuse me?!?! Why is it a good idea for so many to have ZERO stake in how the government is funded and instead simply suck off the tits of the (so called) rich? Why should the hard working have to work even harder to pay for so called "tax cuts" (aka welfare)?

And may I just add that I probably fall into the category of those who would get one of those checks and lower my tax liability. But it's still WRONG. Just because I benefit doesn't mean I support it. I can't be bribed...which I try to tell my husband's union this season when they support the "wrong" candidate who bribes the heck out of them.

It gets worse...

The total annual expenditures on refundable "tax credits" would rise over the next 10 years by $647 billion to $1.054 trillion, according to the Tax Policy Center. This means that the tax-credit welfare state would soon cost four times actual cash welfare. By redefining such income payments as "tax credits," the Obama campaign also redefines them away as a tax share of GDP. Presto, the federal tax burden looks much smaller than it really is.

The political left defends "refundability" on grounds that these payments help to offset the payroll tax. And that was at least plausible when the only major refundable credit was the earned-income tax credit. Taken together, however, these tax credit payments would exceed payroll levies for most low-income workers.

It is also true that John McCain proposes a refundable tax credit -- his $5,000 to help individuals buy health insurance. We've written before that we prefer a tax deduction for individual health care, rather than a credit. But the big difference with Mr. Obama is that Mr. McCain's proposal replaces the tax subsidy for employer-sponsored health insurance that individuals don't now receive if they buy on their own. It merely changes the nature of the tax subsidy; it doesn't create a new one.

Please...PLEASE at least pay attention to these last points...I've added emphasis not in the original article.

There's another catch: Because Mr. Obama's tax credits are phased out as incomes rise, they impose a huge "marginal" tax rate increase on low-income workers. The marginal tax rate refers to the rate on the next dollar of income earned. As the nearby chart illustrates, the marginal rate for millions of low- and middle-income workers would spike as they earn more income.

Some families with an income of $40,000 could lose up to 40 cents in vanishing credits for every additional dollar earned from working overtime or taking a new job. As public policy, this is contradictory. The tax credits are sold in the name of "making work pay," but in practice they can be a disincentive to working harder, especially if you're a lower-income couple getting raises of $1,000 or $2,000 a year. One mystery -- among many -- of the McCain campaign is why it has allowed Mr. Obama's 95% illusion to go unanswered.

Notice that chart...right now if you make $45,000 a year you have zero marginal tax responsibility. Under Obama you'll have 40%! How in the heck is that a tax cut???

I'm all for having those who make more, pay more. That doesn't bother me...though I don't believe they should be completely and totally soaked. But I also believe that everyone should pay SOMETHING. We all have a stake in this great country and when you have a stake in something monetarily it means that much more. How can I appreciate my small stake when people in the top 2% of income earners pay almost 50% of the total taxes?!? Sure seems like I'm getting a free ride from them...or at least a half off ride.

Okay...deep breaths...

Of course, I don't believe all of the hype being talked about ... that an Obama presidency will bring about another Depression (though it could if he tries to hike up the taxes and implement the isolationist policies he preaches) ... that all opposition will be shut down and prosecuted (though they will try to pass the Fairness doctrine which will silence a lot of dissent) ... And I will do my best not to become a victim of ODS (similar to BDS). I think the office of the President deserves a lot more respect than its been given the last eight years.

I really just want to live my life with no government interference and lower taxes. WHY is that too much to ask?!?!?!?!?!?!

Alrighty...this is a great illustration of why the proposed tax plan of "the Messiah" is so screwed up...I'm stealing it from Dust Bunnies who borrowed it from someone else but it's been around for awhile so you may have already read it ...

Barstool Economics...
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!

''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!

''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.