Soak the Rich? Soak the Poor!!

What would provoke a nice person like me to put such a provocative title on a blog entry?

Glad you asked. It's very simple: I am really irritated at the propaganda in this nation that says the rich are getting by paying little or no taxes while the "little people" are shouldering the burden. This is nowhere near truth. Consider the following:

• A single person with no dependents (and who is not a dependent), has AGI of $20,000, who does not itemize, pays about $1296 in federal taxes (about 6½% of AGI). A single person, same data, AGI of $60,000—this person pays $9236 in federal taxes (over 15% of AGI).
• A married couple with three dependents and AGI of $30,000, who does not itemize, pays about $230 in federal taxes (under 1% of AGI). Change the AGI to $90,000, and they pay $8563 (about 9½% of AGI). Furthermore, the first married couple would get an Earned Income Credit of potentially $1500. Both couples would also receive Child Tax Credits if the dependents were under the age of 17.
  

Many similar statistics could be listed. The vast majority of people classified as "lower-than-middle-class" pay little or no income tax...period. The "middle class" certainly pay enough, but the vast majority of "rich people" pay plenty—they are already getting soaked!

And I certainly don't fit into the "soaked" category myself.

The federal income tax system, as it now stands, is complex, unfair, and unnecessarily burdensome. Our federal government needs to learn to live with a lot fewer dollars, and needs to tax its citizens more simply and equitably.

Hopefully Mr. McCain will realize this and push for it once he becomes president.