On April 15th, alongside the Tea Party's Tax Day protest in DC, members of "The Other 95%," a new group we recently formed on Facebook, were on the Mall holding two huge signs reading "The Other 95% Say Thanks For Our Tax Cuts, Obama!"
Our members were initially motivated by a CBS News report showing that 95 percent of working Americans received a tax cut from Obama, but only 12 percent knew it. "I didn't know it," said Andrew Boyd, a writer, small business owner and one of our group's founders. "Many of my friends didn't know it, and it's pretty obvious these tea party folks don't know it either." According to a recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, that number is actually as high as 98 percent.
"The Tea Party is the far right fringe of the Republican party and doesn't represent the American people," said Alex Lawson, a volunteer with The Other 95%. On Tax Day he and Boyd and other 95%ers were willing to face a hostile reception from Tea Party activists in order to get our very simple -- but very true -- message out.
Our message has clearly struck a nerve. Since the initial April 15 action on the Mall, The Other 95% Facebook group has grown to 21,000 members in four days. The people joining up are ready for action. "I have been looking for this kind of organization for a long time!" comments CheerfulGal. "When and where is the next rally?" PurpleHeartVet wants to know. The answer might be: Wall Street, and soon.
We also acknowledge that some of the Tea Party anger is justified. The middle class is overburdened. Democracy is broken. But most Americans agree that the answer is not smaller or bigger government, it's effective government. The real problem is Wall Street and their K street lobbyists that have corrupted Washington and rigged the system in their favor.
"I think this shows how sick Americans are of the paranoia and hate that has gripped the news coverage of the Tea Party for the last year," adds Lawson. "The public is ready to embrace a positive message. Average Americans are finding their voices and standing up to Wall Street."
Our group's tag line is "Politics for the Rest of Us." If we can live up to that, America will likely be better off for it.
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Some may say, "Obama cut the payroll tax temporarily." One, we shouldn't be cutting the payroll tax because we all get that money back when we start drawing Social Security. Two, many low-income people already get a good chunk of their payroll tax back anyway in the form of the EITC.
Plus, I take it that these 95%ers don't smoke? I ask because Obama imposed a huge tax increase on tobacco products last year. The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes went from $0.39 to $1.01 per pack. The tax on pipe tobacco went from $1.09 per pound to $2.83 per pound. Obviously, such taxes hit the poor and then the middle class the hardest.
Also, any "average working person" who has a 401K or an IRA will be negatively impacted by Obama's tax hikes on investments, such as his 33% increase in the capital gains tax. These tax hikes will mean less money in everyone's 401Ks and IRAs.
So, please, enough of this silly myth that Obama has "cut taxes for 95% of Americans." He's done no such thing.
If nothing else, McConnell and Co. will be furious.
maybe he should give it back
What matters is - is he willing to go after needed reform, or do what Wall Street wants?
He's ready to put in safeguards for the middle class - woohooo! Go Obama!!
And what's Mitch McConnell up to these days? He's also gotten big bucks from Goldman Sachs (and just recently asked for more for the 2010 mid-term elections) ... hmmm, interesting - is he going to bat for the middle class?? Not! Never has, never will.
But to me it looks like all members of congress should have explaining to do over their donations from corps that have no love for anyone but their own selves
My family paid (just in federal tax) 12.6% - not bad - but when Exxon Mobile has $45.2 billion in corp profits and didn't have to pay ANY federal taxes in 2009 because they moved their earnings overseas (http:thingprogress.org/2010/04/06/exxon-tax/ ) ..... I do feel slighted.
Even a minimum $1% would help the deficit, don't you think?
How about GE financing a news station at a loss just to get more government contracts
But the corporations that made an actual PROFIT and payed ZERO in taxes get on my last nerve.
Furthermore, and not surprisingly, many of the supposed Obama "tax cuts" are not tax cuts at all--they're tax credits given to people who already paid little or no income taxes to begin with.
Finally, it may interest some to know that since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, we have piled up more debt in the three years since that time than we did in the preceding six years when Congress was under GOP control. We've gone from $8.7 trillion in April 2007 to $12.8 trillion now, a staggering increase of $4.1 trillion. In contrast, under the GOP-controlled Congress, our debt went from $5.7 trillion in 2001 to $8.6 trillion in December 2006, an increase of $2.9 trillion, or some 40% *less* than the debt racked up by the Democrats.
Don;t you wonder why corporate welfare is still around. how about loopholes. GE did not owe any taxes. GE also finances MSNBC at a loss to get more government contracts
Also, if we have to worry about inflation we can begin to raise the Prime Rate.
movies, some technology.
Has the trade imbalance gone away. Is more money coming into the US than leaving?
Note that your mythic hero Obama took more money from Wall Street than any other candidate in the election.