According to President Obama, 234,000 people are to blame for our current federal budget crisis. Those 234-thousand people are the households that reported incomes of at least $1-million dollars last year. And--according to the President--they are the ones who did not pay their "fair share" of taxes.
Those 234-thousand people are the one's targeted by the so-called "Buffett Rule" that the President is including in his new tax increase proposal. The "Buffett" referred to there is Warren Buffett, who claims his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. However, the "Oracle of Omaha" actually doesn't need a change in the Federal Tax Code to rectify that situation. He just needs to raise his salary from Berkshire Hathaway--which is taxed at a rate much higher than what his secretary would pay--and decrease what he claims as income from capital gains and dividends--which are taxed at a lower rate. Voila, Buffett is paying 35% in federal taxes--while his secretary (assuming she makes between 40- and 50-thousand dollars a year) will continue paying 15%.
According to an Associated Press "Fact Check" story,
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/story/2011-09-20/buffett-tax-millionaires/50480226/1
the top 10% of wage earners in the US pay 70% of all federal income taxes. The rest is picked up by those of us in the next 44% of wage earners. 46% of all Americans pay nothing in federal income taxes. And that final group is growing every year. Kind of makes you wonder who isn't paying their fair share. Of course, I'm not part of that 46% President Obama needs to scare/placate/over-promise to have any chance of winning election in 2012.
Now, back to work to support my family--and one other one too.
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