Democrats are alot like Robin Hood. They claim it's a good deed to steal from the rich to give to the poor. But guess what? No matter how you explain it, defend it, or twist the meaning around like a pretzel, it's still called STEALING! They try to say that it's no different than Republicans giving tax cuts to the rich- they call that a "giveaway." They call tax cuts "unfair." But Democrats have lost sight of one little fact- that money belongs to the taxpayers in the first place! It's not a "giveaway" when you allow someone to keep a little bit of their own money!
Let's use children playing marbles as a good example. Wayne has 10 marbles. His friend John steals 5 of those 10. Then he takes pity on Wayne and gives him back 2 of his own marbles. Is that a "giveaway" to Wayne? Was John being nice to "allow" Wayne to take back ownership of 2 of his own marbles? Weren't they Wayne's property in the first place? What a generous fellow that John is- he allows you to keep some of your own property. John is obviously a Democrat. He certainly thinks like a liberal Democrat about money, taxes and the concept of property.
Yes, the GOP lost me with their incredibly stupid Nanny State views on freedom and individual rights issues such as warrantless wiretaps, abortion, gay rights, right-to-die (Terri Schiavo), online gaming, medicinal marijuana- the list goes on and on. And of course their short-sighted spending orgy and unprecedented expansion of the federal government was the straw that broke the camel's back. No I did not leave the Republican Party. The GOP left me.
But as I hear the litany (and variety) of tax increases proposed by Democrats over just the past few days, I feel like vomiting. Let's examine just a few of the draconian tax increases proposed by the party that desperately wants to rob Peter to bribe Paul (because Paul is voting Democrat).
Hillary of course wants to roll back the tax cuts on the "rich" (as if being rich is a dirty word) to pay for her Universal Healthcare (actually the correct description is Socialized Medicine). So let's take a small businessman that earns a nice sized income of $500,000. That's a huge hit on his income- perhaps $25,000 or more. What will he do to make up for that loss? Close his business…fire key employees…cut back on hiring…sell off his property at a loss…stop going out to eat? Or perhaps raise prices to pass the higher taxes onto his customers? Does it occur to Democrats that all of those are bad things for the economy? Multiply those negative choices by millions of small businessmen and you see the pattern developing- it's called a recession. Worse, if this small businessman dies while a Democrat President is in office, his family will suffer a far worse fate at the hands of Big Brother. Democrats want to bring back the death tax (which dies a richly deserved death in 2011 thanks to President Bush)- so his family could stand to lose millions of dollars to the IRS and an over-reaching federal government.
John Edwards and many other Democrats also want to raise the taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest. Who does that tax increase hit? The rich? Well yes. Our small businessman friend above owns a business, stocks, retirement accounts, and of course bank accounts. He gets hit by all these tax raises on virtually everything he owns. But if he suffers, so do you. He either has to stop hiring new employees, fire old ones, or raise prices to make up for this added cost of doing business. But worse, when Democrats aim tax increases at "the rich," middle class taxpayers had better grab their wallets. A tax increase (perhaps doubling) on capital gains, dividends and interest is aimed squarely at every person in America over age 50. It literally ruins the retirement plans of millions of Americans. It cripples many retirees. It means retired people will need to go back to work. I believe this is a formula for disaster. We should be doing the opposite- eliminating all capital gains taxes so retirees pay zero taxes on interest, dividends and the sale of their properties (capital gains). Wouldn't that be the right thing to do for those above age 55, who have worked their whole lives to achieve the American Dream. Shouldn't people like that be able to live out their golden years tax free?
Then there's my old Columbia College classmate Barack Obama. He has the most onerous tax increase of all in mind to cripple high-income taxpayers. His goal isn't just to punish successful people- it's to punish them BADLY! Barack wants to "save" Social Security by extending FICA taxes from a present cap of about $100,000 to INFINITY. Did you hear me? Yes, I said infinity. Under a Barack administration, high-income earners would pay monstrous FICA taxes on all their income- no matter how high it goes. Presently a $500,000 earner (who owns his own business or is classified as an independent contractor- ie any professional) pays about 15% of the first $100,000 of his or her income. That's a total of $15,000. Keep in mind that theororetically they get most or all of it back someday- in the form of Social Security payments.
But under Obama that same unlucky fellow would owe 15% of his entire $500,000 income- that's $75,000. Yes, you heard me. $75,000 would come off the top of a $500,000 income BEFORE you pay your huge federal income tax bill (plus state taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, etc). That's a $60,000 tax increase on a $500,000 earner. That's a five fold increase in taxes. That's the kind of shakedown we throw mobsters in jail for. That's the kind of userous rates that causes us to name street lenders "Loan sharks." Remember, that $60,000 tax increase comes on top of the $25,000 income tax increase on "the rich"… plus higher taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest. It's enough to make the rich, poor. There's nothing left by the time these scoundrels have picked your pockets clean.
Worst of all, it means Social Security is no longer a retirement savings program. It is a regressive soak-the-rich tax windfall for the federal government. If you're talented and bright and creative and tenacious (everything we want our citizens to be) and manage to make a million dollars this year, under Barack Obama your FICA taxes alone would be $150,000. That's probably more than Social Security will pay out to you in all your lifetime of retirement. That was never the intent of Social Security.
But wait, we're not done yet. Democratic Congressman Dingell has proposed the most absurd tax increase of all. I knew Democrats would find creative ways to punish "the rich" for global warming. Dingell proved me correct. Dingell wants to pass a multitude of new taxes to pay for his unproven global warming theories- including huge new gas taxes. Is there global warming? I think most everyone agrees there is- heck it was almost 90 degrees in New York, Philly, Chicago and Detroit over the past few days. Yes, I think there is global warming- duh! But is man the one causing it, or is Mother Nature responsible for 99% of this warming crisis? Are our contributions so miniscule that we cannot make one iota of a difference- no matter how much we sacrifice, no matter how many jobs we destroy, no matter how much we choose to damage our economy? Well Congressman Dingell doesn't care. He's throwing caution to the wind. The centerpiece of his "global warming punish-the-rich crusade" is the wholesale elimination of your homeowner's mortgage deduction- based on the size of your home. Yes, you heard me. Dingell wants to use global warming as an excuse to screw "the rich." And he gets to punish many millions of middle class suburbanites as a bonus.
Anyone with a house larger than 3200 square feet loses most of that valuable tax deduction. Anyone who dares own a home 4000 square feet or bigger loses every penny of the tax deduction under Mr. Dingell's plan. Instead, why not tax everyone equally? Because the poor people, union workers and government employees that vote for liberal Democrats like Dingell don't want to pay a dime of their money to solve the problem. They want to spend your money and mine. Why not? Afterall, we're "the rich." We deserve to be punished for our success.
So now on top of the dramatic federal income tax increases under Democrats; and the gigantic out-of-this-world FICA increases; the doubling of capital gains taxes; and huge new gasoline taxes; successful Americans now get to lose the biggest tax deduction they have- their mortgage deduction. And of course as the Democrat "bonus"… the real estate market for houses larger than 3200 square feet collapses; the price of million dollar homes drops 30% overnight (without the tax deduction they are unaffordable); and in the midst of a foreclosure crisis, millions of Americans living comfortably and happily in large suburban houses are now unable to afford the mortgage payments without the tax deduction- thereby causing millions more to lose their homes to foreclosure.
If Democrats had their way, by the time you add all these increases up, you'd owe more in taxes than you made. But not everyone. Only successful people and small business owners shall be punished by Democrats. These groups vote Republican, so they must be punished, their wealth redistributed, and their lifestyle cut down to size. Like Jimmy Carter in the 1970's, today's liberal Democrats want to limit your dreams. They don't believe you have a right to dream big, earn big, and enjoy the American Dream. God forbid anyone in America should actually want a nice car or a big house. The global warming hysteria is allowing Democrats to show their Socialist colors again. Like that wonderful old country formerly known as the Soviet Union, Democrats want us all to drive drab-colored small cars and live in small apartments. Afterall, we'd be saving the planet by living in cramped quarters and driving small cars (with little energy used). What's the new Democratic campaign slogan? "Sacrifice for the common good." Just a nice way of saying "Misery equally for all."
If you thought Bush and the GOP was bad, boy do I have a news flash for you! The sequel "Hillary in Charge" is even worse. If you earn a good income; if you've built a successful business; if you own a home or stocks; if you own anything that produces interest or dividends; if you live in a nice sized home- get ready to defend your property and your lifestyle. Bar the doors to your country club and hold on to your wallets. The Democrats are coming. Be scared. Be VERY scared.
Wayne Allyn Root is a Candidate for the Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination. You can read more about his opinions on important issues at www.ROOT4America.com.
