Are Rich People Evil? The Democrats Want You To Think So.

This past weekend, over a lovely Easter dinner, my family and I got into a debate about the evilness of rich people. My family blamed the stock market woes on greedy rich people with no morals and a penchant for puppet-mastering the market. My family also stated the federal bailout of the banks, GM and Chrysler would not have happened but for rich people. My family also said rich people don't pay enough in taxes and supported Obama's proposed tax hike.

Interesting. So the people who own lots of stock in the market decided to engineer the market to fall drastically so they could loose thousands and millions of dollars. Sounds like a great way to stay rich - cause yourself to loose money.

Furthermore, nameless and faceless rich people caused the stock market to plummet because the world is run by nameless and faceless rich people organizations bent on the utter destruction of their own wealth and who desire the end of the middle class. Doesn't sound like a conspiracy theory at all, does it?

Oh, and lets not forget GM and Chrysler required government assistance because rich people caused the companies to founder financially. Their threatened financial collapse had nothing to do with GM and Chrysler's business models or financial management whatsoever.

Plus, the rich people soooooo don't pay enough in taxes - in fact, they steal from the poor and give to themselves! They pull a reverse Robin Hood every year on April 15th! The federal deficit makes complete and total sense now.

Here's a table from the National Taxpayers Union about who pays their federal income taxes and how much of the total federal income tax they pay. AGI = Adjusted Gross Income (income minus deductions). Go here to calculate your AGI.

Percentile....AGI>>.......% of Federal Income Tax Paid
Top 1%......$380,354.....38.02%

Top 5%......$159,619.....58.72%

Top 10%.....$113,799.....69.94%

Top 25%.....$67,280......86.34%

Top 50%.....$33,048......97.30%

Bottom 50%..<$33,048.....2.7%
Source: Internal Revenue Service for 2008

So yeah, the rich obviously don't pay enough in taxes. Nope, no sirree. Not enough at all. Today, the bus driver on my bus told another RTA worker that the rich people should pay more in taxes because the rich people have all the money. So in his logic, rich people should work to support not just themselves and their family, but society as a whole. I must have missed learning that socialist principle from our Founding Fathers in my high school history class.

Here's a brain teaser most Democrats haven't been able to figure out: Obama says he wants to tax millionaires and billionaires - but he's proposing tax increases on individuals making over $200K and couples making over $250K. I don't know about you, but people in the proposed tax hike bracket are not millionaires and billionaires. Obama's tax hike is especially confounding considering the gold mine for taxable income for the federal government is for those with AGI's between $100K-$200K a year.

From the April 17, 2011 WSJ article "Where The Tax Money Is."

Consider this - the Department of Commerce defines the middle class as (two parent, two children homes) making at least $80,600 per year (see link above). However, the DOC also stated 92% of American's consider themselves middle class, which includes households making more then $200K and $250K a year. So technically Obama's tax hike would actually raise taxes on the middle class, something Obama doesn't want to do. I told you it was a brain teaser.

So, Obama and the Democrats would have you believe rich people are evil, they've created all of our country's economic woes and they need to be punished by being forced to pay more in taxes. *cough cough bullshit cough cough*

Rich people are not the bane of our country's existence, they don't cause all the problems in the world and they sure as heck aren't bent on the destruction of the middle class. They are hard working people living the American dream who don't deserve to be punished and publicly degraded for the amount of money in their bank accounts.

As a last word, President Obama said he made enough money last year (something like $1.3 million in 2010) and that he didn't need it all so he'd be happy to pay more in taxes. Well, gee, that's magnanimous Mr. President, but see, I need all of my income as do most of people and small businesses I know and they don't feel like donating more of their hard earned cash to your never satiated beast of a federal government. But you go on ahead and donate that excess cash you have laying around, I'm sure Uncle Sam will send you an engraved thank you note.