COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama has proclaimed himself a "warrior of the middle class" in several of his recent speeches, in much the same way as 17th-century Spanish character Alonso Quixano proclaimed himself to be knight-errant Don Quixote.
Don Quixote was a man suffering from delusions of grandeur, setting off to fight enemies that only existed in his mind. He set out to right the wrongs he perceived but ended up obstructing arrieros (those who transport items by pack animal), troubling an inn keeper and battles traders.
Quixote again set out, this time with an illiterate sidekick, Sancho Panza, at which time he intervenes ruinously into matters he is ignorant of and amasses debt without consideration of repayment. It is also during this time that Quixote begins challenging windmills, which he portrays as evil giants.
This gives rise to the term, tilting at windmills, which basically means waging a war on an imagined enemy for idealistic purposes.
This also describes the beginning of Obama's presidency.
As president, Obama has also set out to right perceived wrongs, such as the "inequalities in the distribution of wealth" to quote Marx and Engels.
In a speech Obama made in Cincinnati on Thursday, Sept. 22, he again referenced "special tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires."
One of the "tax breaks" he is referring to is the ability to deduct charitable donations by "millionaires and billionaires" who make $200k a year in gross pay.
In a statement to The Chronicles of Philanthropy, William C. Daroff, VP of Public Policy at the Jewish Federations of North America said, "Limiting the itemized deduction would certainly lead to a significant decrease in charitable contributions... they'll be forced to choose between laying off employees or cutting needed services..."
In short, this back door tax increase would not only harm those served by these charities, but would lead to further unemployment.
Obama said, "... if asking a billionaire [gross salary of $200k] to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I'm a warrior for the middle class."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual wage for an elementary school teacher is between $34,390 and $80,140 (May 2010). The average annual salary for a plumber is between $27,580 and $79,920 (May 2010).
Using IRS 2010 tax tables, the teacher's federal income taxes range from 13.9 percent to 20.2 percent based on BLS wages. The plumber's would be 13.45 percent to 20.2 percent.
A millionaire or a billionaire would be taxed at a rate of $108,421.25 + 35 percent of earnings over $373,650, federal income tax.
Asking a millionaire or billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or teacher would actually constitute a significant tax break for the millionaire and billionaire.
Even using Obama's definition of millionaires and billionaires, those grossing $200k annually are taxed at $41,827.25 + 33 percent of earnings over $171,850.
Is this what Obama wants?
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