Sigh. This is what passes for great thinking in the post "Derb" NRO offices?
In his column today, Thomas Sowell first regurgitates long debunked smears about half of Americans not paying their "fair share" (that would be the poor half).
That this is mendacious propaganda is illustrated HERE, HERE and HERE.
Then, proving that no amount of education can necessarily guarantee someone understands the difference between "statutory" and "effective" tax rates, he parrots the misleading line that America has the "dubious distinction of having the highest corporate-tax rate in the world."
Those redistributionist Reds over at The Wall Street Journal have my back on this one:
"Total corporate federal taxes paid fell to 12.1% of profits earned from activities within the U.S. in fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That's the lowest level since at least 1972. And well below the 25.6% companies paid on average from 1987 to 2008."It get's smarmier. With the lowest personal tax burden in America since the 1950s, Sowell laments "the runaway taxes of our time."
That sure would be scary... if it were true. Too bad it isn't as is shown HERE and HERE.
He proposes that instead of politicians speaking at commencement ceremonies, they should invite John Stossel instead.
I am not making that up.
He sneers at the Left's "ability to convince parasites that they are victims."
Okay. Fine. There is no arguing with that particular straw man.
I am sure all this will serve as convenient cover for FOX talkers today. After all, the august Mr. Sowell is so "respectable."
Here's the kicker, though. Mr. Sowell ends his burbling rant with this:
"In an old Western movie, John Wayne encounters a black man. Wayne tells him, "I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body. I would shoot you as quick as I would shoot any white man." That is what equality is supposed to mean." EMPHASIS MINEReally? The exceptional promise of the American experiment is that we are all supposed to have the same chance of getting killed in a gunfight?
Shark. Jumped.
Totally. Jumped. Into a sinking ship.
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about this line from Sowell ? -
ReplyDelete"Whatever the ideology or rhetoric of the political left, their agenda around the world has been preempting other people's decisions and regimenting their lives."
Confused, so the poor are paying all the taxes?
ReplyDeleteYes. They are.
ReplyDeleteJust a commonsense question from a common man. With what? The reasoning behind the poor paying all the taxes goes hand in hand with America stealing it's wealth from the third world. What wealth does the third world have to steal and with what money does the poor pay all the taxes with. Not flaming just seeking light.
DeleteLooking at one of the links (from Bruce Barlett) you have that supposedly debunked Sowell's assertion that corporate taxes are high in U.S., it's interesting that the comparison drawn are against other 1st world countries, most of which *obviously* aren't where U.S. companies outsource to, so the point is rather moot.
ReplyDeleteIt seems what's missing is an understanding about incentives here, which is ironic since Left most often accuse corporations of insatiable greed, but yet can't seem to fathom why they would react to high (statutory) tax rates.
Taxes come due at the end of the year, but humans in charge of the corporations need to set plans in motion in the beginning, and must act/plan with information they have at the time. That's why statutory rate, rather than the effective rate, is the key driver of behaviors.