The Misinformed Tea Party Movement

[witness23]

For a movement that frets so much about the “burden of federal taxation,” Tea Party adherents have a remarkably dim understanding of what they actually fork over to Washington. In a recent survey of anti-tax activists in Washington Tuesday, tea partiers thought, on average, that 42% of GDP goes to federal taxes. The actual number depends on how you calculate it, but the highest possible figure is 14.8.%, writes Bruce Bartlett.

Ditto for the personal income tax burden, Bartlett writes for Forbes. Angry, misinformed activists think an average family pays out up to 25% of income. But if they bothered to look at the tables, they’d see that no matter how you figure it, you won’t give the government more than 14.5%. They also think taxes are higher since President Obama took office, but they’re actually “very considerably lower by every measure.” Rather than being a philosophical opposition, Bartlett writes, “tea parties just represent unfocused anger at current economic conditions.”


http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/18/tea-party-ignorant-taxes-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html?boxes=opinionschannellighttop

 

[RLENT]

Bruce Bartlett ..... you're kiddin', right ?

 

[LDB]

Not sure what his agenda is but those figures are false and significantly erroneous.

 

[jimby82]

Misinformed Journalist is more like it. 3 quick points.
1. The original reason the Tea-Party movement came into existence was to protest runaway government spending, not to protest higher taxation.
2. Enlisting "Interns" to do your research would probably be frowned upon for any serious scientific study. (Excepting of course Climate change) And no, 57 respondents is not an accurate sample of the entire Tea-Party movement.
3. They did not take into account Social Security or Medicare taxes. Most respondents would consider these part of any "income tax", since if they did not make any income, they would have not paid any of these taxes. That would raise the % by at least 10%, if not more.

Flawed research usually leads to flawed conclusions.

 

[muttly]

Yeah what Jimby said. Plus the fact that the Bush tax cuts will be expiring, hence raising taxes. The health care taxes and the Cap and tax bill. Oh and the suxy energy policy that we have now that won't allow us to drill for oil in our vast resources, thus creating higher fuel prices.(We are back to three dollars a gallon) The taxes,they are a commin!

 

[layoutshooter]

Yeah what Jimby said. Plus the fact that the Bush tax cuts will be expiring, hence raising taxes. The health care taxes and the Cap and tax bill. Oh and the suxy energy policy that we have now that won't allow us to drill for oil in our vast resources, thus creating higher fuel prices.(We are back to three dollars a gallon) The taxes,they are a commin!

There will be far more than noted above. We will be taxed to the level that England is. That will not do anything to improve employment. We have been headed down this slope for a very long time. We are now approaching the steep part. Once we start down this part there will be no stopping it. Freedom is gone. We will all be wards (slaves) to the state.

 

[greg334]

They also think taxes are higher since President Obama took office, but they’re actually “very considerably lower by every measure.”

I want to know where this crap came from?

There is no proof that he lowered any taxes anywhere. He has let some federal taxes expire and will let the bush tax changes expire at the end of the year which means we will pay more in our business.