A meme spreading like wildfire throughout the rabid right is that “47% of Americans don’t even pay federal income tax.” Clearly it’s time for another tax cut for the uber-wealthy in the interest of “fairness”.
David Leonhardt wrote a piece in today’s New York Times exploring this. Short version: The number is true… and meaningless. The working class pays far more in total taxes (once payroll, state, and sales tax is included). People aren’t getting a free ride. The article is worth a read, if only as an example of a calm, fact-based response to overheated breathless propaganda.
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