Tax Day Fools: Your Taxes Have Gone Down

Enter your email address:

Enter the recipients' email addresses, separated by commas:

Message:

Tea Party supporters applaud during a Tea Party rally in Boston, April 14, 2010. (Darren McCollester / Getty Images) Do the thousands of protesters descending on Washington for Tax Day protests know that taxes have gone down?

Thursday is Tax Day, and more than 750 Tea Party-inspired protests are scheduled to be held across the country, including the Sarah Palin-helmed “People’s Tax Revolt” on the Washington Mall.

Paying taxes has never been anyone’s idea of a good time, but a populist revolt casting President Obama as a socialist King George III is a bit misplaced. While there is ample reason to be angry at unsustainable levels of government spending and fearful of future tax hikes, here’s an inconvenient truth: Americans are paying less in federal taxes this year.

The Obama administration can claim that its president signed the largest single tax cut in American history—although no one’s going to mistake President Obama for a supply-sider.

That’s not all. According to a new report issued by Citizens Against Government Waste, pork barrel spending is on the decline as well—under Democrats’ control of Congress.

Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. By John Avlon. 304 Pages. Beast Books. $15.95. But don’t expect those facts to get in the way of spleen-venting sound bites that call for a new American revolution.

Our political debates have become increasingly dishonest, distorted by constant partisan spin. But as my math-whiz friends tell me, numbers don’t lie. So here are the facts as they relate to 2009’s tax burden.

To date, as the courageously consistent fiscal conservative economist Bruce Bartlett states in the pages of Forbes magazine, “No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama’s policies.” In fact, as Bartlett attests, “federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president.”

Indeed, 98.6 percent of taxpaying working families saw tax cuts in the first year of the Obama administration, according to the dependable Nate Silver over at fivethirtyeight.com. More than one-third—or $288 billion—of the much-protested $787 stimulus bill was in the form of temporary tax cuts or tax credits, most geared toward individuals in admittedly small increments. That’s why the Obama administration can claim that its president signed the largest single tax cut in American history—although no one’s going to mistake President Obama for a supply-sider.

• Rebecca Dana: Tea Party FashionBecause out-of-control government spending is the stated No. 1 issue for most Tea Party protesters, Wednesday’s release of the annual “Pig Book” is worth special mention. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is one of the most vigilant watchdogs of wasteful spending, and this year’s report showed surprising signs of optimism. Overall pork-barrel projects have declined 10.2 percent since the last fiscal year, and the cost of these projects has decreased 15.5 percent, from $19.6 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $16.5 billion this year. The high-water mark for pork-barrel spending took place in fiscal year 2006 and helped lead to Republicans losing control of Congress. CAGW credits “greater transparency” for the reductions, and its spokeswoman, Leslie Paige, concluded, “We’re going in the right direction.”

There is still too much pork floating around for absurd projects, but the top pork-barrel appropriator, ironically, is a Republican—Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, who took home $490 million in taxpayer money last year for 240 projects. I look forward to his Tea Party primary in 2014.

But before any Democrat is tempted to excerpt only the top half of this column for partisan purposes, plenty of bad news is coming down the pike for the American taxpayer.

View as Single Page 12 Back to Top April 14, 2010 | 11:54pm Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Share var share_object = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: unescape('Tax%20Day%20Fools'), summary:unescape('Do%20the%20thousands%20of%20protesters%20descending%20on%20Washington%20for%20Tax%20Day%20protests%20know%20that%20taxes%20have%20gone%20down%3F'), content:unescape('Do%20the%20thousands%20of%20protesters%20descending%20on%20Washington%20for%20Tax%20Day%20protests%20know%20that%20taxes%20have%20gone%20down%3F'), url:'http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-14/tax-day-fools/' }, {button:false, embeds:true}); var element = document.getElementById("sharethis"); share_object.attachButton(element); | Emails | print var OutbrainPermaLink=document.location.href.replace(document.location.search, '').replace(/\/\d+\/$/,'/').replace(document.location.host, 'thedailybeast.com'); var OB_Template = "The Daily Beast"; var OB_demoMode = false; var OBITm = "1255455386150"; var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = ''; document.write(str); } Tax Day Tea Party, Tea Party, Tax Day, Taxes, Millionaire's Tax, Supply-side Economics, Leslie Paige, Tax Rate, Pig Book, Citizens Against Government Waste, Sarah Palin Protest, Tax Protest, People's Tax Revolt, Bush Tax Cut, Washington Mall, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Tea Partiers, Bruce Bartlett, Tea Parties, President Nixon, Obama Tax Cut, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama  (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies Sort Up Sort Down sort by date: 12 RevPettibone

Mr Avlon, as we were saying in Atlanta tonight, liberal hacks like you would have the world believing tomorrow is gonna be "a bunch of yahoos having a hootenanny"... Shame on you, that couldn't be further from the truth, and you know it. Rest assured Tea Partiers will thank Mr Obama for giving workers making up to $75K a year a $7.69 weekly reduction in the FICA tax withheld from their checks...... (Would you still like to tout the numbers and brag a little more about them?) People are objecting to Obama's policies that begin now and stretch over the next 10 years and beyond......Out of the $600Billion in new taxes that were recently enacted in to law .........14 of those new tax increases totaled $300Billion and affect those making less than $250K a year.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 1:56 am, Apr 15, 2010 Nathan Herbert

Why are Americans, like yourself, so addicted to lies, and intent on spreading as many as possible. Using the word liberal as a negative stereotype doesn't make you smart: The USA is founded mainly on the principles of liberalism, not conservative values or religious dogma: Free men have the right education and expression, freedom of worship and work, to name a few. It is very amusing to observe how uninformed the greater part of american citizentry remain, and even more astounding that american media give so many people(liars, hate-mongers etc) a 'credible' platform for their ilk. Education, or educating one's self and one's children is nothing to be scorned on as liberal elitism, it should be the dream of every adult and parent. If only the USA was better educated(turn off the TV), people such as yourself, Sarah P and Rudi G- downright liars -would have to seek an honest job.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 7:20 am, Apr 15, 2010 RevPettibone

to Nathan Herbert...... Not that it surprises me anymore, but for God sake when are liberal drones going to quit trying to distract from the real issues at hand. By now I'm sure even you can admit the screwball tangents your brand keeps going off on have become both predictable and tedious. But since you've raised the issue of liberty, I am more than happy to accommodate. With all that's happened in Washington over the last 15 months it's an insult to all we hold dear for you to even suggest today's liberals represent the essence of our founding principles. A blatant disregard of the people by the liberal majority on Capitol Hill has raised the ire of the body politic..... resulting in a massive distrust in government. The fermentation that brewed during the debate has now boiled over and the protests we're seeing are it's result......the defeats liberals will experience in November will be devastating. True the MSM is culpable for being used to channel lies and half truths.... but why are you acting surprised when clearly the diatribe blasted over the airwaves is emailed to them from the White House every morning(case in point, Valerie Jarrett and MSNBC's Morning Joe.) Me thinks you sell average Americans short when you discount their understanding of the current facts. Unlike the dolts in 2008 that blindly walked into the boths yelling "yes we can", today's electorate is angered because they've bothered to become well informed. Bottom line is this..... Big Spending leads to Bigger Deficits.... and we all know those lead to Higher Taxes. With all that education you say you have, you would think you'd have learned some simple facts of accounting....... Liberals don't much care what the end result is, just as long as someone else can be fooled in to thinking they're not gonna have to pay for it.

Flag It | Permalink 1:12 pm, Apr 15, 2010 wolverine1987

What a moron Avlon is--they are protesting the future as they see it--where economists on both the left and right acknowledge that taxes for all will go up, in order to deal with future deficits. They are trying to reduce spending so that taxes don't go up--therefore demonstrating far more education and sense than Avlon does.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 10:03 am, Apr 15, 2010 pennsykid2000

Dealing with future deficits caused by whom? The self-professed "fiscal conservatives" in past Repub congresses who raised discretionary spending faster than Bill Clinton and helped double the deficit from $5 to $10 trillion during the W years? Why don't you provide evidence to support your claims, as Avlon does here? As a true conservative Bruce Bartlett does here? You can't be bothered with facts since they contradict your preferred world view.

Flag It | Permalink 10:19 am, Apr 15, 2010 bgeasyas123

Defending social security and medicare is not a spending reduction tactic, it is defending the status quo....

Flag It | Permalink 2:50 pm, Apr 15, 2010 newswoman

RevPetti, you said it so well..."a bunch of yahoos having a hootenanny". That is perfect, coulden't have said it better myself.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 11:13 am, Apr 15, 2010 RevPettibone

to newswoman... if that impresses you, I can only imagine the thrill you'll get when I one day disclose my opinion of you.

Flag It | Permalink 1:16 pm, Apr 15, 2010 yakdriver

Saying this: "Out of the $600Billion in new taxes that were recently enacted in to law .........14 of those new tax increases totaled $300Billion and affect those making less than $250K a year." And actually having it so are not one in the same. You really need to have some facts to support this. In other words please list these supposed tax increases. Now I do know there is a very good chance if I make over $250K next year I am liable to see a tax increase to 1999 levels. Then again if I make $250K next year I'll be over joyed and happy to pay the tax.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 11:22 am, Apr 15, 2010 David Walker

RevPettibone: If there is anything that is going to irritate workers making up to $75K a year, it is going to be having extra cash in their wallets. Given your contempt for such a pittance, I would not ask you to calculate the annual amount. However, I am not the sort of guy you are going to find setting fire to cash, so I've handled the odious task of computing the annual additional cash. The amount is a revolting $399.88 - let's call it $400.00. Here's what I think you should do. Protest this slap in the face. You and your friends should send a loud and clear message to this stinking liberal no-good President by sending that $400.00 to your local Democratic Party Headquarters. Hurry now, let them know of your contempt and disdain. Send that stinky puny check of $400.00 right now. Let them know your mad.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 11:51 am, Apr 15, 2010 RevPettibone

to David Walker...... I may be angry, but unlike yourself I'm not flying off the handle half baked. Today you flaunt the importance of 400 bucks, but exactly 2 years ago this week, members of your same liberal blockade denounced every stimulus check George Bush was about to send out...... or have you forgotten that already?

Flag It | Permalink 1:31 pm, Apr 15, 2010 tonyw1538

Pay no attention to the good Rev, nor the current tax rate. The *only* thing that matters is spending versus income. This whole debate about how much we pay in taxes is like debating what the minumum payment on our Credit Card statement should be. To a financially responsible person that minimum payment is irrelevant, only the total balance due matters. Like the tax question itself, the "stimulus check" from our esteemed former Prez was simply borrowed money. "Conservatives" like to pretend they are in favor of lower tax rates, but neither party cuts spending - and that's the real culprit

Flag It | Permalink 2:54 pm, Apr 15, 2010 bgeasyas123

Rev, Even if you have the exact numbers, I think you are forgetting the fact that probably 95% of americans make less than 250K a year. So $300 billion to be payed by 95% of americans isn't bad when you consider $630 billion will be paid by the remaining 5%. (not sure of the exact percentage breakdown, but I am pretty sure I am in the ball park)

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 2:47 pm, Apr 15, 2010 MalcolmO

John - That was Paul Volcker, as an individual, suggesting that HE supports the idea of a VAT tax. The administration has made it clear that such an option is not on the table: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0714816320100407

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 2:33 am, Apr 15, 2010 OldCrow

Tax rates have increased. I'm paying more based on the same income as last year. Inconvenient facts. WAKE UP, Mr. Avlon and start scribbling something useful.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 4:13 am, Apr 15, 2010 DevilsLawyer

Federal or state/local? Mr. Avlon has in fact written that state and local taxes have risen, which is hardly under Obama's control.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 4:20 am, Apr 15, 2010 wareagle82

Obama's tax hike are coming and it's not just the VAT. The health care bill has a couple of them; perhaps you have heard. Or are you really going to try and make the case that all of this new spending is going to somehow pay for itself?

Flag It | Permalink 9:05 am, Apr 15, 2010 kilchis

That's an anecdote,it's not evidence.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 10:16 am, Apr 15, 2010 Banjo1

How could they know? They are violent wingnuts who figure in a book someone wrote recently. It wasn't you by any chance, was it?

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 6:58 am, Apr 15, 2010 Nathan Herbert

Most of these people are not interested in the truth, their only concern is to somehow get 'their country' back. After Barack may come a Latino or Native American President! Terrifying.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 7:23 am, Apr 15, 2010 wareagle82

okay, John, let's see: a $787 billion dollar spendulus bill was passed last year; a massive health care overhaul is being passed this year and as it comes to light, seems taxes are part of it; talk of a VAT has begun. You don't suppose tax increases are going to come, do you, or is it beyond your comprehension that folks might be looking ahead to the consequences of govt action? Obama's only been around for budget cycle; pretty tough to hike taxes in such a short time. But what, if not the groundwork for tax increases, are the spending measures that have been enacted? That's what happens when a story line is presented in a dishonest manner.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 9:03 am, Apr 15, 2010 RawhideRex

Perhaps you should try reading the whole article before trying to catch John in a "gotcha" moment. On page two..paragraph one he states: "The Obama administration's 10-year budget plan calls for a tax increase of nearly $1 trillion, including more than $630 billion in personal income taxes on people making more than $250,000, as a result of the Bush tax cuts sunsetting on schedule as well as a hike in capital gains, and $353 billion from American businesses, already the second highest-taxed in the industrialized world. And that is before the terrible European Social Democrat-evoking VAT tax proposal now being floated." You people REALLY need to calm down a bit and do some actual THINKING.

Flag It

There is still too much pork floating around for absurd projects, but the top pork-barrel appropriator, ironically, is a Republican—Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, who took home $490 million in taxpayer money last year for 240 projects. I look forward to his Tea Party primary in 2014.

But before any Democrat is tempted to excerpt only the top half of this column for partisan purposes, plenty of bad news is coming down the pike for the American taxpayer.

View as Single Page 12 Back to Top April 14, 2010 | 11:54pm Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Share | Emails | print var OutbrainPermaLink=document.location.href.replace(document.location.search, '').replace(/\/\d+\/$/,'/').replace(document.location.host, 'thedailybeast.com'); var OB_Template = "The Daily Beast"; var OB_demoMode = false; var OBITm = "1255455386150"; var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = ''; document.write(str); } Tax Day Tea Party, Tea Party, Tax Day, Taxes, Millionaire's Tax, Supply-side Economics, Leslie Paige, Tax Rate, Pig Book, Citizens Against Government Waste, Sarah Palin Protest, Tax Protest, People's Tax Revolt, Bush Tax Cut, Washington Mall, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Tea Partiers, Bruce Bartlett, Tea Parties, President Nixon, Obama Tax Cut, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama  (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies Sort Up Sort Down sort by date: 12 RevPettibone

Mr Avlon, as we were saying in Atlanta tonight, liberal hacks like you would have the world believing tomorrow is gonna be "a bunch of yahoos having a hootenanny"... Shame on you, that couldn't be further from the truth, and you know it. Rest assured Tea Partiers will thank Mr Obama for giving workers making up to $75K a year a $7.69 weekly reduction in the FICA tax withheld from their checks...... (Would you still like to tout the numbers and brag a little more about them?) People are objecting to Obama's policies that begin now and stretch over the next 10 years and beyond......Out of the $600Billion in new taxes that were recently enacted in to law .........14 of those new tax increases totaled $300Billion and affect those making less than $250K a year.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 1:56 am, Apr 15, 2010 Nathan Herbert

Why are Americans, like yourself, so addicted to lies, and intent on spreading as many as possible. Using the word liberal as a negative stereotype doesn't make you smart: The USA is founded mainly on the principles of liberalism, not conservative values or religious dogma: Free men have the right education and expression, freedom of worship and work, to name a few. It is very amusing to observe how uninformed the greater part of american citizentry remain, and even more astounding that american media give so many people(liars, hate-mongers etc) a 'credible' platform for their ilk. Education, or educating one's self and one's children is nothing to be scorned on as liberal elitism, it should be the dream of every adult and parent. If only the USA was better educated(turn off the TV), people such as yourself, Sarah P and Rudi G- downright liars -would have to seek an honest job.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 7:20 am, Apr 15, 2010 RevPettibone

to Nathan Herbert...... Not that it surprises me anymore, but for God sake when are liberal drones going to quit trying to distract from the real issues at hand. By now I'm sure even you can admit the screwball tangents your brand keeps going off on have become both predictable and tedious. But since you've raised the issue of liberty, I am more than happy to accommodate. With all that's happened in Washington over the last 15 months it's an insult to all we hold dear for you to even suggest today's liberals represent the essence of our founding principles. A blatant disregard of the people by the liberal majority on Capitol Hill has raised the ire of the body politic..... resulting in a massive distrust in government. The fermentation that brewed during the debate has now boiled over and the protests we're seeing are it's result......the defeats liberals will experience in November will be devastating. True the MSM is culpable for being used to channel lies and half truths.... but why are you acting surprised when clearly the diatribe blasted over the airwaves is emailed to them from the White House every morning(case in point, Valerie Jarrett and MSNBC's Morning Joe.) Me thinks you sell average Americans short when you discount their understanding of the current facts. Unlike the dolts in 2008 that blindly walked into the boths yelling "yes we can", today's electorate is angered because they've bothered to become well informed. Bottom line is this..... Big Spending leads to Bigger Deficits.... and we all know those lead to Higher Taxes. With all that education you say you have, you would think you'd have learned some simple facts of accounting....... Liberals don't much care what the end result is, just as long as someone else can be fooled in to thinking they're not gonna have to pay for it.

Flag It | Permalink 1:12 pm, Apr 15, 2010 wolverine1987

What a moron Avlon is--they are protesting the future as they see it--where economists on both the left and right acknowledge that taxes for all will go up, in order to deal with future deficits. They are trying to reduce spending so that taxes don't go up--therefore demonstrating far more education and sense than Avlon does.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 10:03 am, Apr 15, 2010 pennsykid2000

Dealing with future deficits caused by whom? The self-professed "fiscal conservatives" in past Repub congresses who raised discretionary spending faster than Bill Clinton and helped double the deficit from $5 to $10 trillion during the W years? Why don't you provide evidence to support your claims, as Avlon does here? As a true conservative Bruce Bartlett does here? You can't be bothered with facts since they contradict your preferred world view.

Flag It | Permalink 10:19 am, Apr 15, 2010 bgeasyas123

Defending social security and medicare is not a spending reduction tactic, it is defending the status quo....

Flag It | Permalink 2:50 pm, Apr 15, 2010 newswoman

RevPetti, you said it so well..."a bunch of yahoos having a hootenanny". That is perfect, coulden't have said it better myself.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 11:13 am, Apr 15, 2010 RevPettibone

to newswoman... if that impresses you, I can only imagine the thrill you'll get when I one day disclose my opinion of you.

Flag It | Permalink 1:16 pm, Apr 15, 2010 yakdriver

Saying this: "Out of the $600Billion in new taxes that were recently enacted in to law .........14 of those new tax increases totaled $300Billion and affect those making less than $250K a year." And actually having it so are not one in the same. You really need to have some facts to support this. In other words please list these supposed tax increases. Now I do know there is a very good chance if I make over $250K next year I am liable to see a tax increase to 1999 levels. Then again if I make $250K next year I'll be over joyed and happy to pay the tax.

Flag It Read Full Article »