The One Percent Pay 37% of Taxes

For three years, we have been hearing how big business is bad and how the rich are avoiding their fair share of taxes. Barack Obama has been leading that charge, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we are now seeing the spread of the class warfare he has helped to kindle.

A quick review of the richest 25 Americans, according to Forbes magazine, reveals a reality that many protesters may be forgetting: Only four of those 25 are investors — Warren Buffett, George Soros, John Paulson and Carl Icahn. Aren't all four Democrats?

The others such as the late Steve Jobs and most of the super-wealthy, created a product or service that the world wanted so much that we all bought it. Among the products represented by the top 25 richest Americans? The personal computer (Microsoft and Dell); Internet searching, social media and online shopping (Google, Facebook and Amazon.Com), and candy (Mars).

Are there ways of shielding earnings and are those practices used by those with the most income to shield? Of course. But the wealthiest 1 percent still pays 37 percent of the federal income taxes in this country, according to the National Taxpayers Union, a fact that needs to be recognized by the protesters.

We should be careful about taxing those people out of the country, since they will take their businesses — and jobs — with them. Massive redistribution of wealth in the form of taxes tends to discourages people from working — the exact opposite of what we should be trying to achieve. If we want to discourage people from spending on themselves, or encourage them to be charitable, let’s work toward tax policies that create those incentives. But penalizing work isn’t the answer.

The occupiers have listened to Obama and believed his lies. If you hurt the one percent you hurt all private sector workers.

Comment here and email us at YourVoice@speaknowconservatives.org.

Moms, Dads, Grandparents need a place to vent about the direction our government is taking? Go to MomsAndDadsBeHeard and speak out. Be part of bringing our Great country back.

You might also like to read this article: Income Inequality