These are great letters to the editor in today’s Wall Street Journal retorting Obama’s economics advisors.
Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee (“The Obama Tax Plan,” op-ed, Aug. 14) must believe Americans can’t add and subtract, and that we are willing to accept income redistribution as public policy. Mr. Obama’s spending promises date would more than double the current deficit. The plan to pay for that spending by increasing the rate on the “wealthy,” where the top 1% already carry 40% of the tax burden and the top 10% already carry 71% of the country’s tax burden, fails to consider what actually happens when tax rates are shifted. They wrongly assume that higher rates result in high revenue. As we have seen time and again, from Kennedy to Reagan to George W. Bush, lower rates actually result in higher revenue.
Victor Connor
Wellington, Fla.“The Obama Tax Plan” states that Sen. Obama is going to be “asking those making over $250,000 to contribute a bit more to Social Security to keep it sound.” Since he’s asking, my answer is no. Last year I paid a combined federal and state income tax rate of 44% and would prefer not to have my tax rate raised to over 60%. Maybe he should ask Congress to stop wasting our tax dollars instead.
Michael O’Guin
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.I now know why Mr. Obama doesn’t seem to understand taxes and economics — his advisors don’t. They claim to value the contributions of small businesses to the economy, but then talk of raising their tax rates. The single largest group of taxpayers in the upper income brackets are subchapter “S” corporations and LLCs, which pay the personal rate. So when Obama talks of raising rates on upper income earners, he will be hiking rates for small business.
They also neglect to mention that it wasn’t Mr. Clinton’s “deficit-reduction” plan (tax increase) that drove the economy in the 1990s; it was a GOP Congress that held the line on spending.
Rick Cannon
Buffalo, N.Y.How does a tax rollback to higher rates or the repeal of a tax cut differ from a tax increase?
What is the difference between working families and families who make over $250,000 by working? Does the work of those who make over $250,000 preclude them from being considered a working family? Is their work any less valuable to the economy? As a small business owner (who wishes to stay in business), I find it difficult to hire more workers when expenses, such as payroll taxes, go up.
Mike Harrington
Barrington, Ill.