WHO PAYS WHAT?

DESTROYING THE MYTH OF THE "DECADE OF GREED."

The left just loves to refer to the Reagan years as the "Decade of Greed." The implication is that higher income types got away with absolute murder during the '80's when it comes to paying income taxes. Well, let's take a look at some statistics from the Internal Revenue Service to see just what the various income levels were paying in income tax in 1981, and what they were paying in 1991.

1983 -- THE BEGINNING OF THE DECADE OF GREED -- THE YEAR THE REAGAN TAX BREAKS TOOK EFFECT.

Here we find the top 1% of all income earners in the United States paying a total of 20.3% of all of the personal income taxes collected by the IRS. The top 10% were paying 49.7% of all income taxes, and the top 50% was paying 92.8%. The bottom 50% of all income earners were payign only 7.2% of all income taxes.

1993 -- THE DECADE OF GREED ENDS! CLINTON RAISES TAXES TO THE EVIL RICH WILL PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE!

Ten years later, in 1993, we find the top 1% of all income earners paying 28.7% of all income taxes collected! Wow! Those rich SOB's really got away with murder, didn't they? The top 10% saw their share of total income taxes collected go from 49.7% to 58.8%. The greedy so-and-so's. The top 50% saw their share rise to 95.2% of all taxes, while the bottom 50% saw their share drop from 7.2% to 4.8%.

IT'S 1998 --- HOW ARE THE EXPLOITERS OF THE POOR DOING NOW?

The September 23, 1998 issue of The Wall Street Journal has the new numbers for us. The share of the taxes being paid by the top 1% has gone up again! For the year 1996 they are approaching 33%.

YEAH .. BUT THOSE RICH BASTARDS ARE EARNING SO MUCH THEY STILL WEREN'T PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE

OK, fine. What would you consider a fair share? If the top 10% was earning 70% of all the income but only paying 58% of the taxes, that wouldn't be fair, would it? Well ... let's see what the figures show.

In 1993, at the end of the Decade of Greed, the top 1% were paying 28.7% of all taxes. They earned only 13.8% of all earned income. Oops! sounds like they are paying a bit more than their fair share, doesn't it? What about the top 10%? They were paying 58.5% of the income taxes but earning only 39% of the income. The top 50%? Paying 95.2% of the taxes, earning 85% of the income. The bottom 50%? Earning only 15% of the income but paying just 4.8% of the income taxes.

Update ... In 1996 the share of the income earned by the top 1% reached 16%. Remember: They're paying one third of all the taxes.

So ... who is getting away with not paying their fair share? Looks like the bottom 50% to me ... not the evil, hated, mean, nasty, wicked rich.

These figures came from The Tax Foundation and IRS Statistics, 1983 through 1993. You go and do your own research and verify them! Then tell me just what the hell Bill Clinton was talking about when he said that the rich need to pay "their fair share."

Excuse me ... I have to go throw up.

1997 UPDATE:

It’s not by accident .... it's all part of the grand plan .... but every single year the federal income tax burden gets shifted more and more to high-achievers The ultimate goal of the politicians in DC is to shift the entire federal income tax burden to about the top 30 percent of income earners. This will clear the road --- the politicians will then be able to take pretty much as much money as they want from a small group of people whose votes they don’t need, and use that money to buy votes (prescription drugs) from people who’s votes they do need.

Well ... here's the latest figures. Once again, the high achievers pay more and the low achievers pay less.

You want to be in the top 1% of taxpayers? Well, in 1997, you needed to report an adjusted gross income of at least $250,736. If you’re in this group you paid about one-third (33.2%) of all income taxes. One percent paying one-third of the taxes. That’s up, by the way, by about one percent from the previous year. Oh, you say, but surely those rich bastards earned about one-third of all income! Not so. The top one percent earned 17.4 percent of the income ... paid one-third of the taxes.

This class war game of the Democrats is un-American. The last thing we need is to convince voters that there is something wrong with some people making more than others. What we should be doing is selling them on the idea that in America, if you work hard, you will be rewarded.

The Wall Street Journal published fascinating information about the "evil rich" on Oct. 6. According to a 1998 U.S. Trust Corp. survey, the top 1 percent either had more than $225,000 in adjusted gross income or a net worth of $3 million. Most are working couples with children who've worked an average 29 years and put in 56-hour weeks.

The people Al Gore wants to punish gave 8 percent of their income to charity. Eighty-three percent of these "rich people" volunteer an average of 17 hours a month to their favorite causes and charities.

In 1997, on the other hand, Al Gore gave only $353 to charity, although we taxpayers paid him $140,000 and gave him a free eight-bedroom house. He made an additional $60,000 on his investments and other activities (now he's up to $200,000). Three hundred and fifty-three measly dollars to charity from Al versus at least $18,000 from the "evil rich." Doesn't it make you want to throw up?

What Al wants is a socialist tax system that redistributes income from those who work hard to those who hardly work.

However, the Democrats' class war is not limited to the top 1 percent. Last year, Dick Gephardt said that any family with an income of $75,000 or more was wealthy. If you and your spouse are teachers, work for the post office or manage a Domino's pizza outlet, Dick Gephardt thinks you are wealthy.

If you didn’t make it into the top one percent, maybe the top 5 percent! To get there your income had to be at least $108,048. This group earned 31.8 percent of the income, but it paid 52 percent of the income taxes. So, there you go. Over one half of the income taxes being paid by the top 5 percent of income earners.

The top 10 percent of taxpayers have an adjusted gross income of $79,212 or more. They pay 63.2 percent of the total income tax.

Here's more - the top 25 percent of income earners (income over $48,000) pay 82 percent, or $4 out of every $5 in income taxes.

Top 50 percent? Gone up. The top 50 percent of income earners are paying 96 percent of the taxes. That leaves the bottom 50 percent paying just 4 percent of the taxes ... the only group who’s share of the tax burden has gone down.

Now, maybe you understand why polls show that a majority of people aren’t really worried about a tax cut. Hell, they aren’t paying anyway!!

If you remember nothing else on Nov. 7, remember this:

There is no such thing as federal money, state money or local money. It all comes out of the same pocket. Yours. Politicians can't spend a dime unless they first take your money from you under penalty of prison.