I'm not one of those 2% making $1 million or more a year. But my whole problem with that bill was they wanted to keep everybody the same, except one group, and raise their taxes 4.5% because, well, they make what we consider "too much money". So, hes basically saying that Bush's tax bill was just fine; except for these people who make alot of money. Just because they make over $1 million a year doesn't mean they should magically shoulder the burden of the highest tax IMO. Especially when they more than likely aren't the ones using taxpayer programs such as food stamps, etc. Personally, I would like to see the math that was used to calculate that magic $1 million dollar dividing line.
If they were going to raise everybody's taxes, then whatever. That's one thing. But he singled out one single tax bracket and sent the message that they were going to bear the cross for the country, while leaving cuts in place for everybody else. Why should they be victims of their own success? It's sending the message that we want people to be successful. But if you're too successful, well, you're going to get fucked.
Bottom line, I think you either raise everybody's taxes, lower everybody's taxes, or leave it the fuck alone.
I mean, that's what tax brackets are for.
Lower taxes, in general, is better in my opinion. And I don't want to see a gross inequity in percentages (like the bottom 10% paying 1% tax, and the top 10% paying 75% or something crazy like that). But you do realize how tax brackets work, right? For example, using simplified figures as a hypothetical, if Joe the Plumber files single and makes $8,000 a year, he pays 10% of that $8,000 in taxes. If Uncle Pennybags files single and makes $1,000,000, he gets taxed 10% of the first $8,000, 15% from $8,000 to $35,000, 25% of $35k to 80k, 28% of $80k to $170k, 33% of $170k to $370k, and then 35% of the income he makes over $370k. He's not charged 35% of the full million.
And Obama didn't invent the tax bracket system.
As mentioned, as of now, he continued the Bush tax cuts, which were intended to be temporary.
I'm all for lowering taxes overall, and even evening out the brackets to be
closer to a flat tax. But a pure flat tax, while I love in theory, isn't really fair in practice.
Going to a flat tax would, ironically, be considered extremely radical (to the right). Far more radical than anything Obama has actually done.