Tax Break for Rich

A few days a year are Planet Taxes for me. My world is perforated IRS forms torn out of an exciting page turner. I really don't want to say much more about that for fear that agents scan blogs for future audit targets. Actually, I'm not afraid of an audit; I've been audited. It's an interesting visit, a field trip of sorts. I got to talk to a man that knew less about tax law as it applied to clergy than I did. I think that helped reassure both him and me. I also found out what I had already suspected. They just want you to pay your taxes, the ones you actually owe. They don't care if you find loopholes.

Well, with that kinder, gentler introduction let me talk about "tax breaks for the rich." This lie gets told every two years in this country as election time nears. To start, I don't need to recuse myself on this, because I'm not rich. Well, my Father is rich in houses and lands and holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands. Someone should put that in a song. And then my father-in-law is Rich. Rich Kirby. But I help pad the statistics on poverty. Of course, I'm not poor. I would hover over several third world countries, but here I'm in that bottom tier, the serfs, the proletariat. As a matter of fact, I'm a beneficiary of our country's robbery of rich people, so that makes me even more qualified to talk about this. While listening to our area classical station about a week ago, I heard that the President's new investment tax package benefits the rich. That was in the news segment, worthy of a few seconds to express that fathomless stupidity. I'll get to the rich and investments, but first to the favorite lie of the left, the rich get the biggest tax breaks. You probably knew that the top 10% in wealth pay 90% of all the taxes. Many, many do not pay income taxes at all. Me, for instance. I haven't paid income taxes since I became a pastor 18 years ago. After parsonage allowance and lots of other deductions, I have worked my way into the sweet spot of earned income credit. Yes, the American people pay me for having kids. They want to give me credit for having so many and not allowing them to starve or go homeless. Nice of everyone. Let me say thank you readers for your benevolence. That alone makes me feel as though I'm earning money for doing taxes every year. If a rich man makes a million dollars in a year, let's say he pays 380,000 of that in taxes. If a middle class man makes 100,000 dollars a year (that's middle to upper middle class in California), let's say he pays 25,000 of his hard-earned money to the government. The poor man who makes 20,000 bucks a year, doesn't pay any taxes, but receives 2,000 dollars in EIC from his country.

First, you can't give the poor a tax cut. Have you noticed how impossible it is to pay any less than zero? Instead they raise his EIC $500. He's already being paid for probably being less productive than others, and it's the rich who are giving it to him. Let's say that the middle class guy gets a 20% tax break, which means he is giving $5,000 less to Uncle Sam than he was before. Now let's say that the rich person gets a 5% tax break, so that he is now paying $50,000 less in taxes. Can you believe this? The rich guy gets $50,000 from George W. Bush, the middle class guy gets only $5,000 despite the fact that the union leaders fought hard for him, and then the poor, well, they only get a $500 "break." Do you see what this is all about? It's padding the pockets of rich people. You all know this is a lie, but this kind of class warfare continues because at least 20% of Americans are willing to drink the kool-aid. What I hate about this is the immorality of it all. It directly violates "Thou shalt not steal."

You say, "What's the solution?" At least a flat tax.

But what about investments? Who makes them? Well, the rich have more money to invest. If they do invest it, instead of hoarding it in some offshore account, that means they are putting it back into our economy. They are creating jobs for people. They are essentially keeping families in work, who in turn pay the mortgage or rent and feed the kids. The liberals want to take away incentive for rich people to invest. Why? No good reason, except that it sounds good to a bunch of greedy poor who think they will benefit from the rich getting less. The truth is that while they jump up and down for their guy, in a few weeks or months, they will be in an unemployment line. Don't worry, that will be blamed on conservatives too. Why? Not enough government jobs.

You know I could go on. You know I could. I'll stop here, and hope that you will please tell everyone you know about what an awful lie this is.