Class Warfare
The Politics
In recent weeks, conservatives have ramped up their name-calling and accusations, telling voters that progressives such as Barack Obama are “socialists” who want to take money from the middle-class and give it away to the poor. According to John McCain, Obama “believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” [John McCain.com] McCain claims that progressive tax policies will raise tax rates on small businesses and “hard-working families to give ‘welfare’ to those who pay none.” [John McCain.com, McCain Web Ad]
The Facts
Conservatives are the real redistributors of wealth. Under the Bush Administration, the incomes of middle-range households have stagnated. Workers with earnings in the lower range have lost ground and, taking inflation into consideration, on average they now earn less than they did in 2000. [U.S. Census Bureau] All the income these workers lost went directly to the top 20 percent of households, the only group whose share of income rose over the last eight years. [U.S. Census Bureau] Income inequality in the United States has skyrocketed since Bush took office, making America the world’s third-most economically unbalanced country, behind only Mexico and Turkey. [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development]
It’s the wealthy, not working Americans, who avoid taxes. Conservatives like John McCain claim that “more than 40 percent [of Americans] pay no income taxes right now.” [JohnMcCain.com] He suggests that it’s low-income workers who are skipping out on their tax responsibility, but that isn’t true. The wealthy enjoy most of the income generated by capital investments—and that income is taxed at a lower rate than the income middle-class workers earn. Warren Buffett pointed out that it is unjust for him to pay taxes at a lower rate than his secretary does. [Raw Story]
Progressive tax policies benefit all of America; conservative policies have failed. Conservatives accused President Clinton of “tax and spend politics” when he raised income taxes on the very wealthy to pay for investments in economic development, education, and new technology. [Washington Post] But Clinton’s policies yielded 23 million new jobs—nearly five times more new jobs than Bush created with his tax cuts for the super-rich. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]
Conservative tax policies contribute to the extreme inequality we now face—and they want to make it worse. Instead of giving everyone an equal tax cut, John McCain promises to give the richest people in America a cut five times as big as the one he’s promising to Americans in the middle class. [Tax Policy Center] John McCain’s tax policies are even more unbalanced than George W. Bush’s: Bush gave 31 percent of the benefits of his tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent, but McCain would give them 58 percent of benefits. [Center for American Progress]
A progressive tax proposal is the best bet for small businesses. Less than two percent of small-business owners would face a tax increase under a progressive tax plan such as Barack Obama’s, and many more would see their tax bill reduced. [Tax Policy Center] In fact, one of the tax credits John McCain rails against—the Earned Income Tax Credit—is claimed by 14 percent of small-business owners. Obama’s plan to strengthen this credit would help seven times as many small-business owners as would McCain’s plan to decrease tax rates for the richest Americans. [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities]
The Argument
It’s time for an honest conversation about taxes. Instead of yelling about which candidate will give away the biggest tax cut, let’s consider which tax plan will raise the revenue needed to meet America’s needs in the fairest and most efficient way possible. The economic debate should be about investment and long-term economic goals, not just tax rates. After all, many Americans would be willing to pay the taxes they paid when Bill Clinton was president if they could have the economy they enjoyed when Bill Clinton was president.
Even John McCain knows that tax cuts for the rich aren’t fair. Or at least he used to. McCain now wants to keep Bush’s tax cuts and make them bigger. But in 2001 he said, “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.” [New York Times]
Conservative accusations of “socialism” are preposterous. America has prospered by investing in its future—from canals to interstate highways, from the internet to public universities. There’s a real difference between socialism and government investment. America’s income tax system has always been progressive. It is as American as apple pie. Conservatives’ accusations of “socialism” are name-calling, not analysis. And look what conservatives have done. McCain calls Obama’s refundable tax credits “welfare,” but his own tax plan contains a refundable credit for health insurance. [John McCain.com] Sarah Palin expanded a program that takes profits from oil companies and redistributes it to Alaska’s residents with rebate checks worth more than $3,000 apiece. [Bloomberg] And Bush has presided over a multibillion-dollar partial takeover of the banks, which McCain supported.
Conservative tax policies are neither fair nor effective. Over the years, most Americans have agreed that we should ask more of those who have the most, and less of those who have the least. Conservatives have tried to reverse that longstanding principle by lowering tax rates for the wealthiest. They’ve generated greater inequality but they have failed to create jobs, balance the federal budget, or boost economic growth.
Progressive Solutions
We need to restore fairness to the federal tax code. It’s time to eliminate Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and ensure that all Americans pay their fair tax share. Our tax code should reward Americans who work hard and help our nation grow, not those who collect dividend checks or run companies that ship jobs overseas.
