McCain, Obama duel on economic fix-it plans

[Terri]

By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press
July 8, 2008

DENVER (AP) -- Barack Obama and John McCain agree on this much: The economy is staggering under the Bush administration, and Americans are hurting. But who's to blame and how best to fix it?

Well, they part ways on that, as they made clear in dueling economic speeches Monday on the issue that has taken center stage in their presidential contest.

Obama said that McCain offers a third term of President Bush's policies.

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[cruiseprof]

The Democrats are making me so angry with their plans "only to raise taxes on the richest Americans," meaning the top five percent. Most people are so stupid that they don't understand that the top five percent includes those of us making $250,000 & way, way, way up. People with incomes under $500,000 to $1 million per year are not "rich."

If they really want to raise taxes on the "rich," they need to look at the folks who earn at least several million dollars a year. These are the people who have been on the gravy train, because many of them derive most of their income from tax-free bonds, dividends & capital gains. These are the people who are paying taxes at an average rate of 12 to 15 percent.

Most people who earn under $1 million per year have earned income, which is fully taxable at up to 35 percent. We are the ones who are already bearing the greatest tax burden in this country. We can't afford to pay higher taxes.

$250,000 is not "rich," especially if you live in a large, metropolitan area, and/or if you are raising a family. You may not have to live from paycheck-to-paycheck, and you may be able to afford a few luxuries in life, but you are far from being "rich."

If the Democrats succeed in raising taxes on people who earn between $250,000 & $1 million per year, they will cause severe economic hardship amongst a group that is not currently struggling. A tax increase on people at this income level will surely cause an increase in bankruptcies, home foreclosures, unemployment, etc. Why do I include unemployment? Because most people in this income level are small business owners. Most of these businesses are either LLC's or Subchapter S corporations, where the business income flows through to the owner, and is taxed at the individual rate. If small business owners have to pay higher taxes, they will have to compensate by either laying off workers, cutting back on salary increases or benefits for workers or by creating fewer new jobs.

The way that Democrats vilify businesses of all sizes, success, wealth & the American Dream, is a page straight out of the Marxist playbook. This class warfare rhetoric is really getting old. People who earn $250,000-plus per year should be held up as shining examples of the greatness of our country.

[elmerck1]

I got this in an email today, and it is from Baracks book.

Forwarded email removed by Admin.

[Terri]

Elmer, a few things.....

Whenever you post an article it should be posted according to our copyright guideline.

5. The Forum at GOPUSA respects U.S. copyright laws. A small portion of copyrighted articles may be posted for the purpose of discussion. Please limit those postings to 100-150 words and provide a link to the original article. Credit the author and publication in your post. Use the title of the article as it appears at the originating site. Do not post copyrighted images. Post only your own images -- photos you have taken or graphics you have created.

We also ask that you never post an email but always find the article online, attribute it and post a link with it. Sowell himself can give you one of the reasons for that.

I'm sure you can find that article right here on GOPUSA if it really was written by Thomas Sowell.