OUR TAX CODE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED!

Life has its ups and downs. The stock market; your temperature and even your emotions go up and down. But people only want taxes to go down! And that’s understandable since who wants to pay more when we can pay less for anything?

But the constant lowering of taxes is killing America!

Okay perhaps it’s a bit melodramatic to say it’s killing America but it is killing the American Middle Class!

Recently President Obama went after tax cheaters.  And because he is President Obama he had to go it alone as once again the GOP controlled Congress refused to do the right thing or anything the Kenyan Democratic President would like.

Not only do they refuse to help the American economy they won’t even discuss the matter since raising taxes on the mega wealthy would harm the very people and corporations that fund their political campaigns and lives!

While most Americans want the wealthy to pay their fair share of the country’s tax bill they probably don’t understand how important it is that they do so.  And let’s face it; if raising their taxes means raising mine forget it.

And this is because most of those people don’t understand what a progressive tax system is let alone how it works!

If you tell the average American that our Nation prospered and grew under the Eisenhower Administration they might smile at the memory of good times but Corporations and the so-called 1%ers would not!

So why the disconnect?

I though a rising tide lifted all boats!

Well the top tax rate during Republican President Ike’s reign was over 90%.

Whoa, did you say 90%???

Questions like the following show how misinformed people really are!

People keep saying that the income tax rate under Eisenhower was around 90%. Is that really true? If I made a million dollars in 1955 would I really only be able to keep one hundred grand?

How can the average Joe make a living if he has to give the government that huge a chunk of his income?

HE DOESN’T!

And that misunderstanding by the average Joe is the essence of the problem.

Our tax code is broken into brackets.

I’ll pause while you joke about March Madness.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

But these brackets produce April madness, April 15^th to be exact!

Ever since GOP GOD Ronald Reagan was in the White House the Republican Party has been fighting to lower all taxes.  Not because they care about the average citizen but rather they want the wealthy to be able to sock away and hide more and more of their wealth.

A 1955 dollar would be worth $8.89 today.  This means if you are earning $50,000 a year today it only equals $5,624 back then! And $200,000 today is the equivalent of $22,500 back then.

Both of those phenomenal salaries would neatly fit into today’s 20% tax bracket!

However the person earning $200,000 in 1955 would be getting the equivalent of $1,778,000 now and that person would be paying taxes in the 91% bracket.

So does that mean he keeps only $160,000 after taxes?

Should we hold a telethon for the poor guy?

NO! He pays on a sliding scale so that only the money earned OVER $1.778 million is taxed at that rate.

In fact if you get out a calculator and ask a 9 year old with patience and a lot of scrap paper for help you will figure out that his entire tax bill, not including loopholes and offshore hiding places, would come to slightly under $138 million.  He gets to keep over $384,000.

Granted it is a large chunk of money but I dare say very few people would have trouble living on such a tidy sum of money.

And the taxes paid by this good American would AND DID help America thrive.

As a nation we were the envy of the World and we grew a middle class that had the freedom and wherewithal to live wonderful productive lives raising families with hopes of a bright future.

That has changed as greed and corporate welfare has taken over the country.

The wealthy figured out how to change the conversation and make the people of the formerly large middle class vote against their own best interest.

As was attributed to John Dickerson of the Continental Congress, one of America’s first Conservative legislators and a wealthy land owning man, “Most people with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich rather than face the reality of being poor” and that is why they will vote Republican! (sic)

But just as the stock market changes so too can our tax system.

It does not have to remain a tool for wealthy people and corporations to rape and pillage Americans.

I do not propose that we return to the 90% top bracket days but surely the wealthy could survive a similar fair tax sliding scale that sported a 50% ceiling!

Under that tax code a person earning $1.778 million would still take home nearly $1 million per year!!!

We must keep our eye on the prize and that prize must be the fair treatment of all citizens of this country.

If you really want to build our economic house and make America great again fixing our tax code is one of the necessary building blocks to a prosperous future for all!