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Ear to the Ground

Americans Pay Less in Taxes Under Obama Than Under Bush

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Posted on Feb 9, 2011
Martha Soukup (CC-BY)

According to The Associated Press, “for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush. ...” In fact, as a share of gross domestic product, Americans haven’t paid this little in taxes since Harry Truman called the shots.

AP via Yahoo by way of Think Progress:

Actually, as a share of the nation’s economy, Uncle Sam’s take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way.

And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and poor alike.

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By Blue Tax, February 22, 2011 at 11:51 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

It seems like many people believe that lower taxes
would be better. Hopefully, strides towards lower taxes
will be made. Thank you for posting.

Report this

By Big B, February 10, 2011 at 3:01 pm Link to this comment

Hey, bear in the woods, perhaps it is you and others of your chicken little ilk that should be talking to their accountants. Perhaps they could explain to you that individuals and especially businesses in the USA pay some of the lowest income taxes among the first world industrialized nations. The only places you will pay less taxes, and consequently also recieve the least services, are third world banana republics, like Somalia, Columbia, and Sudan.

When you consider that over a fourth of all federal spending is used to support our bloated military industrial complex, it’s amazing that our infrastructure is in as good a shape as it is.

But for all you pinheads out there in tv land that don’t like to, or think you pay too much in taxes, I have a solution. Stop paying them! However, the rest of us should have the right to forbid all non-tax payers from using any and all government services for which all our taxes pay. Don’t leave your house because your not allowed on the road. Don’t eat any food purchased in a grocery store, for it has been inspected by the government, and produced to those standards. House on fire? Need a policeman? I suggest a garden hose and a gun (but how you gonna buy those, not being able to drive on the roads or bridges? The internet? sorry, can’t order anything on that, Those are public airwaves. Probably run to your home through a huge public utility grant, anlong with your power, water and sewer).

If you were not permitted to use all the services and products whose developement and distribution was paid for by our tax dollars, you would be sitting in a dark corner of you homemade cabin, picking bugs out of your hair, hoping that mustard patch on your chest magically cures you of those diseases you contracted because you didn’t pay your taxes and were never immunized against.

Don’t let those mexicans and evil Canadians scare you. You know, the ones that just invaded your back yard and planted a flag. The US army will take care of those maurauders. Oh wait, your taxes pay for them too.

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By Andrew, February 10, 2011 at 5:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

We pay less taxes now then we did in the 50s. Bitching about taxes is a pretty silly thing.

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By Marvin, February 10, 2011 at 12:52 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

When will Republicans stop lying about Obama? Never?
That’s what I thought. The question is when will
gullible Americans stop buying into their lies…
hopefully before the next election.

Report this

By Bear in Woods, February 9, 2011 at 9:56 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Tell it to my accountant.

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By berniem, February 9, 2011 at 8:47 pm Link to this comment

The fact that Obama is a corporatist aside, no matter what he does or doesn’t do, the ignorant and bigoted reactionary fundamentalist bible bangers will do all they can to see him fail because OBAMA IS BLACK!!!!!All of America’s true-blue conservatives are nothing more than sheet-less white supremacists especially those from the abyss called “The South” and fearmongering and hate is what they do in the name of jesus, amen! FREE BRADLEY MANNING from your latterday Andersonville!!!

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