The guessing is pretty much over, not that it was much of a challenge.
We know now what our Dear Ruler’s campaign theme is going to be for 2012. Voters will be told that everything is pretty much cool with Social Security and Medicare and those programs need not be changed.
All we need to do is raise taxes on the wealthy. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer summed it up nicely after a meeting with Obama on Thursday: “We must preserve Medicare, we must protect Medicaid, and we must have revenue raising.”
“Revenue raising,” of course, means raising taxes.
Following the meeting, Obama stood in front of a phalanx of American flags to tell us that the tax burden on the wealthy is at its lowest point in 50 years, and that the “fortunate among us” can afford to pay a little more.
There’s the Obama platform. Raise the taxes on the rich. Oh, and cut defense spending while we’re at it. Democrats love to cut defense spending. It’s part of their DNA.
Now I could launch a rant here about this “fortunate, less-fortunate” nonsense. I’m just assuming you realize wealthy people didn’t get that way because they were lucky, and the poor aren’t suffering with only one flat-screen because they got the short end of the stick.
This is easy to summarize: The rich keep getting richer because they keep doing those things that made them rich. Ditto for the poor. You earn your status. It’s not luck.
Instead, let’s focus on this new Democrat line that the achievers in America now have a lower tax burden than at any time in the past 50 years. Obama knows two things: First, the dumb masses are not going to research that statement to see if it’s true. Obama said it, it must be true. Second, wealth envy works. Always has. Always will.
It is absolutely true that about 30 years ago the income tax rates on the so-called wealthy were higher than now. In 1981 the top rate was 70 percent, and it kicked in for an individual at $108,300.
Today the top rate is 35 percent. Well, there you have it, you might say. You just proved Obama’s point! Not so fast. In 1981 there were many more deductions one could take before the 70 percent rate was applied.
This may come as a surprise to you, but in 1981 you would deduct not only the interest on your home mortgage, but also all of the interest you paid on credit card balances, car and other consumer loans. You also deducted those federal taxes you pay on your phone and utility bills. The bulk of your medical expenses were also deductible.
There were many other deductions — too many to list here — that had the effect of lowering the evil wealthy person’s tax burden to pretty much the same levels we see today.
You’ve heard, no doubt, Warren Buffet complaining that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Actually, he does! And that would be because Warren Buffet pays capital gains taxes at the 15 percent rate and that is lower than the rate paid by his gal Friday.
Salaries and wages, which are subject to the income tax, represent only 6.5 percent of the average wealthy tax filer’s income. Two-thirds of their incomes are taxed as capital gains.
The Democrats aren’t going to get into these folk’s pockets by raising income taxes. Millionaires and billionaires will laugh off Obama’s tax increases while small business owners — our jobs creators — take the hit.
The Democrat campaign theme is based in wealth envy, nothing more. Voting for Obama in 2012 would be akin to strapping on an economic suicide vest — and handing the detonator to your ex-wife.
Listen to Neal Boortz live from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays on AM 750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB.
His column appears every Saturday. For more Boortz, go to boortz.com
