Messaging 101: "Everybody In The Country Keeps Their Tax Break On The First $250k They Earn"

[stopbush]

Michael Smerconish pointed out the poor messaging Team Obama and Obama himself are doing on extending the bush tax cuts for another year. They make it sound like the 98% who make "up to $250,000" get to keep their tax cut, while "the top 2%" LOSE ALL of their tax cut.

That. Ain't. Correct.

The truth is that under Obama's proposal, the bush tax cuts will continue to apply to the first $250,000 earned by ANYONE. Millionaires and billionaires as well. That makes it FAIR, because the cut-off point is the same for everybody, just like FICA taxes apply only to the first $106,800 one earns.

Obama should be selling this as a FAIR TAX CUT - EVERYBODY GETS THE SAME CUT UP TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF $250,000.

EVERYBODY will now pay an additional tax ONLY ON INCOME THEY EARN ABOVE THE $250,000 CUT-OFF.

"The millionaires and billionaires get the same tax cut as you, and you get the same tax cut as the millionaires and billionaires."

Surely, the truth of the matter is a more powerful message than the one being used up to now. Why make it sound like some people (rich people) are losing the entirety of the bush tax cuts? It isn't true, and it makes Obama look like he's got something against rich people.

[DLnyc]

1. Yes, important difference

Good luck getting anyone to hear it, though.

The thing about a noise machine is it makes it hard for anyone to hear anything.

[WCGreen]

2. That's pretty subtle and anyone who knows about the tax code, and I

would bet most of the people in the top tax brackets, understand the meaning of graduated tax brackets.

But I agree that it would be best to point that out....

[Lionessa]

3. EVEN what you're saying and Smerconish are WRONG! It takes $350K-$500K for $250K to be your taxable

TAXABLE INCOME.

[stopbush]

7. That, too. Actually, I'm the one who's being imprecise.

Smerconish did make the point about taxable income v pre-deduction income, but I forgot to include that in my post.

His remarks came at the end of "Hardball" today, which he was guest hosting.

[ProgressoDem]

4. Most important:

It reminds folks we're talking about taxing money, not people.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. It's been too many years since people used to work with tax brackets

Before Reagan the average taxpayer used to calculate their taxes over a field of incremental interest rates.

If they covered four brackets the clever ones knew to split their gross over the range and then take this amount at this rate and this amount at that rate and this amount at that rate and this amount at that rate.

Reagan made it so only one bracket applied to most tax payers.

It made people forget you only pay the higher rate on what goes over the next bracket.

Granted, a lot of people prior to Reagan would just look at the interest table on their gross, pay that, and then let the government do the calculation for them and wait for their refund check to come in the mail which would often be used toward their summer vacation.

[patrice]

6. K&R

[kentuck]

8. Everybody gets a tax break on their first $250,000 dollars.

Or nobody gets a tax break on their first $250,000. That decision is up to the Republicans. Call your Congressmen and tell them that everyone deserves this tax break.

[geckosfeet]

9. Robert Reich had a nice piece about this a few days ago... link & excerpt here

The Truth About Obama's Tax Proposal (And the Lies the Regressives are Telling About It)

Everyone is treated exactly the same. Everyone gets a one-year extension of the Bush tax cut on the first $250,000 of income. No "class warfare."

Yet regressive Republicans want Americans to believe differently. The editorial writers of the Wall Street Journal say the President wants to extend the Bush tax cuts only "for some taxpayers." They urge House Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for "everyone" and thereby put Senate Democrats on the spot by "forcing them to choose between extending rates for everyone and accepting Mr. Obama's tax increase."

...

Regressives also want Americans to think the President's proposal would hurt "tens of thousands of job-creating businesses," as the Journal puts it.
...

A small business owner earning $251,000 would pay the Bush rate on the first $250,000 and the old Clinton rate on just $1,000.

[Flying Squirrel]

10. The only people who think FICA taxes are fair

are people making over 106,000 a year. If they removed that cap, Social Seurity would be solvent for the next 70 years.