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This abomination is a pretty good example why folks have been forced to seek alternative, and better, news sources than what is to be found in traditional venues. Yes, the reporter is absolutely clueless, embarrassingly so, but where was an editor? Was there no one around ABC to point out or link to actual tax tables or who knew what "marginal rates" are? Are they all idiots over there at ABC? But it isn't just them. David Gregory, Jake Tapper, et all are freaking out over the "tax hike" in the most unseemly manner, when in reality 95% of people are getting a tax CUT, which is literally never mentioned by these reporters. And they are so obsessed with themselves that they are irresponsibly screaming about "bolsheviks" and "socialists" running the government and running stories like the one here. These are MAINSTREAM reporters. And none of their colleagues ever call them on their dishonesty.
Bah. National journalism can't die off too fast for me.
#1 Posted by Tom Traubert, CJR on Tue 3 Mar 2009 at 08:55 PM
Actually, it's more like 97 percent of people who will be getting a tax cut (presuming this goes through as written). Reactionaries have taught their fans well: lots of high-income people don't know what marginal rates are. They don't do their own taxes (in fairness, many can't because the income tax system is too complex for ordinary small businesspeople) so they don't know even the basics. There is a class divide, and it's between those who like to learn about how things work and like to do things for themselves, versus those who specialize. The specializers have gotten rich but ignorant.
#2 Posted by ed ericson, CJR on Wed 4 Mar 2009 at 12:12 PM
It is an odd relief to see economic ignorance instead of scientific ignorance.
The prize goes to a CNN report several years ago on some lightning research in Florida. The researchers found melted tubes in sand which allowed them to track the path of the lightning. The reporter asked if the lightning kinda got hard and poked holes in the sand.
So, nice to see someone blow high school finance instead of high school science.
#3 Posted by Walter Underwood, CJR on Thu 5 Mar 2009 at 12:42 AM
It seems that even the commenters here haven't much of a clue on how taxes work.
First, marginal tax rates are not the end all be all of how much tax you pay. Much is based on your adjusted gross income. If you earn above a certain amount, you are precluded from taking some deductions, which increases your net taxable income upon which the marginal rates are applied. And as you know, the Obama administration is going beyond raising marginal rates to reducing or eliminating deductions for people in the higher ranges--such as charitable contributions and mortgage interest. So it may very well make sense for someone to keep their income below the trigger level where they're gonna get screwed on their deductions--and have a big increase in the income that's gotten sneakily moved into the upper marginal rate.
Second, it's quite appalling to hear journalists quote the propaganda line that 95% of people will get a "tax cut." Hardly 50% of Americans pay any income tax at all. They have no income tax to cut. Calling the free-money parachute drop for the lower 50% a "tax cut" is a partisan euphemism.
And not taking someone to task for claiming it is a "tax cut" for "payroll taxes" shows your ignorance in how Social Security and Medicare work. Hint: There is no "lockbox" where all the retiring baby boomers' FICA retirement payments have been stored. Basic math alone should illustrate that decreasing the pool of people paying for an increasing pool of monthly retirement checks is a recipe for disaster.
By the way, when did the country agree that 50% of the population should have their Social Security and Medicare payments refunded to them so later on they can collect checks for free for the rest of their lives? It's just a massive welfare program slipped past the public under the cuddly, cozy sounding name of "payroll tax refund."
#4 Posted by Carolina, CJR on Thu 5 Mar 2009 at 05:50 AM
Congratulations for working in every deluded lie and distortion that Hannity the high school failure dishes out!! Social Security! Welfare! No taxes! No Deductions! Which is even MORE stupid and untrue than the pathetic ABC story.
Here:
Marginal tax rates
That little blip at the end? That's what we are talking about. The end of the world as we know it!!!!!
Hahahaha!. (Is that you again, Emily?)
#5 Posted by Tom Traubert, CJR on Thu 5 Mar 2009 at 06:27 AM
Wow, Tom Traubert. Congratulations for working in every exclamation mark an unhinged, low-on-fact, high-on-emotion commenter can make. Are you a journalist?
I'm guessing the Hannity thing is supposed to be a slur. One thing it isn't is a magic wand to make all my points invalid. They are still all there, unrefuted.
Ha ha. It is indeed funny that as you use a Fox News personality as a straw man for your weak debating skills, you cite a site called Balloon Juice as your authority for all things taxation. Is that where ABC editors are supposed to be linking?
(Is that you again, Keith Olbermann?)
#6 Posted by Carolina, CJR on Thu 5 Mar 2009 at 01:26 PM
I hope I get a response that's a bit less ad hominem than your last post.
#7 Posted by Aaron, CJR on Thu 5 Mar 2009 at 04:49 PM
(You guys really need to list which HTML tags you support. The "em" and "blockquote" tags are pretty basic. I used both "just in case" one or the other didn't work - and neither worked.)
#8 Posted by Aaron, CJR on Fri 6 Mar 2009 at 10:19 AM