Our Economy: The Difference Between the Party of Hoover and the Democrats

It seems to come down to this: The Party of Herbert Hoover wants to use the current recession as a tool to break the backs of the working and middle classes. The Democratic Party wants to preserve the working and middle classes and if that means raising the taxes on the richest Americans, so be it.

What I have to laugh at, though, is the idiots who are saying "well, if the taxes go from 35% to 39%, I'll just make less than 250,000 and fuck them."

Fortunately, most people who make over $250,000 are either smart enough (or have accountants who are smart enough) to realize that is all bullshit.

Let's say, for the sake of discussion, that all income over $250,00, regardless of filing status, is now taxed at 35% and will be taxed at 39%. That is income over that amount; income less than that amount is not taxed as highly. If you make $500,000 a year, that entire $500,000 is not now taxed at 35%.

Here is how it works, and again, for the sake of discussion, I'm simplifying greatly (and I am ignoring all deductions and differences in filing status. Suffer.)

From the first dollar you take to the first $10,000, you pay 10%.
From $10,000 to $30,000, you pay 15%. Note that if you make $30,000 that year, you pay 15% on only $20,000 of that income.

And so it proceeds up the scale.

So if you make $500,000 a year, your taxes on the income over $250,000 are 35% of that, or $87,500. If that goes up to 39%, that would rise to $97,500.

Now let's assume that you follow the bilge of "hey, I'll cut my income to avoid paying 39% in taxes" and that you are making $500,00 a year. You give up $250,000 of income in order to not to pay $10,000 more in taxes; that means that you give up $152,500 in after tax income. You are throwing away $152,500 in cash from your pocket just so you can have the satisfaction of not paying income taxes on the $250,000.

This is where your family and your accountant smack you upside the head and let you know, in no uncertain terms, just how goddamned stupid you are.

And then, if you're stubborn enough to say "I don't give a fuck," then please be so kind as to send us a weather report from Planet Utopia, and please enjoy your stay on whatever locked ward you reside in.

Then we can get into the various people who make far less than $250,000 a year, the ones most at risk for losing their homes, savings and jobs if this recession drags on for many years, and who are so outraged by the proposal to raise taxes on the richest Americans. You may wonder why they are shedding such tears, but that's a topic for another day.