Who are the 47%? And the irony might be remarkable.
(Dan here…Afferent Input started to write for Angry Bear but was subsequently uprooted with family to live and thrive in Germany for a few years, and gave up blogging. He and a now bigger family have moved back to the States, so may begin to blog again. Welcome back AI! )
by Afferent Input
Romney claims that that the 47% of the people that don’t pay federal income tax are a lost cause. They are simply moochers and looters that “are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.” They’re part of the problem, in his mind, and there is nothing he can do to help them because they refuse to help themselves.
But as Mark Thoma shows, the vast majority of people that don’t pay federal income tax (which is only just a part of federal taxes) are either students or the elderly. The elderly, in particular, do not pay income or payroll taxes on the meager payout of Social Security.
This from the Hamilton Project:
The irony of this, though, is that older Americans are the group most likely to vote for Republicans! Here are exit poll data from the 2010 election cycle:
Will Romney’s attempt to characterize older folks as parasites turn them off of the GOP? I doubt it, but it’s a funny way to do outreach.
this sure came together fast:
We Are The 53%
Afferent
YOu could point out that the “elderly” already paid the damn tax… they paid for their social security out of their wages… that they got by working.
as long as both the progressives and the criminal republicans continue this stupidity of pretending that Social Security is a government handout, you are going to lose the only successful anti poverty program in america. It is successful exactly because it is not welfare.
The “elderly” are subject to federal income taxes on their SS benefits. If you earn 25K 50% of your beenfits are taxable and if you earn over 34K 85% of you SS benefits are taxable.
On a different note you and I had some comments on the estate tax and the step-up in basis a while back. I noticed a few weeks ago that Sen. Thune has introduced a bill in the Senate that eliminates the estate tax and KEEPS the step-up in basis. Maybe this is what Romney is referring to in his “tax plan”. If so I owe you an apology.
thanks for the link to the Hamilton Project. I’ve not seen it before. It looks like a source of much useful info.
Sorry AI I thought this wasa post by Robert.
little john
it helps the reader, and maybe you, if you address the person you are talking to.
@coberly – yes, good point. In fact, the proportion of people not paying federal income tax at any one point in time will be largely determined by demographics. In addition, lifetime contributions to SSI, as well as federal taxes paid can not be determined by looking at any one point in a person’s life.
@little john – you are correct, there are levels of income for which some portion of SSI is taxable. I should have mentioned that!
AI
i am not a pedant, but it might help avoid misunderstanding if you can remember that SSI is welfare, and has nothing to do with “Social Security” which is not.
don’t read this as any kind of criticism. you are right that the 47% “pay no taxes” is mostly just another “fact based political lie.”