Should There Be a Point at Which Someone Has Paid Her “Fair Share” of Federal Income Taxes?

Making more fortunate Americans pay federal income taxes on every dollar no matter how many they make isn’t making them pay their “fair shares;” it is confiscatory, immoral, and inefficient.

***The lawyer from Washington, D.C., I had attending the event on April 22 at Panera can no longer attend on that date, so I will reschedule it for a later date. Sorry to all of those who signed up.***

HAPPY TAX DAY (not really)!!!!!

The Progressive Left believes that “fair share” only applies to Americans making $400,000 or more and equates to “as much as possible.” They want as many Americans as possible depending on government, as it creates a permanent voting block for their candidates. Is that what you believe? I unequivocally do NOT believe that; rather, I believe that every American should have skin in the game of this place we call America. Under our current progressive federal income tax system, only Americans making $200,000 or more pay their “fair shares.” Arguably, they pay far more than their “fair shares.” Specifically, as the chart below shows, Americans making $200,000 or more earn 46% of all income, yet pay 69% of all federal income taxes. At the same time, those Americans making $100,000 or less earn 31% of all income, but only pay 13% of all federal income taxes. Why aren’t they required to pay their “fair shares?” Those making between $100,000 and $200,000 earn slightly more than they pay in federal income taxes.

Now, you can come at me by stating that the $100,000 and below folks pay federal payroll taxes, state and local income and sales taxes, gas taxes, capital gains taxes, and property taxes if they own or rent a home. Well, the $200,000 or more crowd pays those taxes, too. Believe it or not, once all taxes are added up, some Americans pay more than 50% of their incomes in taxes, which means government takes MORE THAN HALF of every dollar earned.

Like the federal income tax, those making $100,000 or less also get far more out of Social Security than those making $200,000 or more. The same goes for federal Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Now, I support the idea of providing a social safety net for our most vulnerable populations—a helping hand when needed versus lifetime dependency. I also support a retirement program for the less fortunate, so they aren’t forced to work beyond a reasonable age and so they don’t live in poverty forced to make decisions about eating or keeping the heat on. That said, our current safety net system is going broke because too few pay into the system, as too many depend on it.

Let’s set aside the issue of fraud in the federal disability insurance program, self-inflicted wounds (i.e., you ate or drank or drugged or engaged in reckless activities rendering yourself incapacitated), and willful un-or underemployment. You can pretend those things aren’t a problem, but each one drains precious funds from the programs.