I didn't see this written about here so I am posting it. My older son-in-law works at Money magazine and he posted an article on Facebook that refutes Romney's disgusting comment. Of course Romney is wrong but that should come as no surprise.
My son-in-law's comment on Facebook marvels at how people look at the same set of facts and interpret it radically differently.
Here's a smart graphic my MONEY colleague Susie Poppick put together a few months ago about who pays federal taxes. Takeaway: At the federal level only, income and payroll taxes included, about 17% of Americans pay no taxes. This group is made up almost entirely of the elderly, the poor, and presumably some people who are low earners but not necessarily poor, such as students working part time.
Here is the link to the article:
http://money.cnn.com/...
I apologize for this brief diary and my lack of analysis of the article. I think it speaks for itself. The article is short but the graphic is great.
Much of the debate in this election is about taxes -- how much we pay, who pays it, is the burden shared fairly. MONEY magazine separates truth from spin.
They have some clear graphics that I am having trouble embedding here so I urge folks to go to their site.
Many people pay no federal income taxes. But the vast majority do owe payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, which in turn are two of the biggest items in the federal budget.
Add those in, and the taxpaying group is much larger. Most of the rest are either elderly or very low income.
I admit I don't pay income tax now. I'm old and poor and therefore no longer useful to society, according to Romney and his ilk. I do pay taxes on anything and everything I buy but I don't pay income tax or property taxes. (What next, the floating ice floe?)
I have worked from age 9, doing heavy farm labor and a few times picking cotton. I didn't pay taxes then either. I also partake of socialist programs called Medicare and Social Security, into which I dutifully paid for over 50 years. However, it doesn't look as though that counts to sociopaths running for office. Apparently the only useful, righteous people in Romney's head are rich and arrogant.
Bosh and piffle.