More about Who Pays Taxes

Fiscal Times weighs in on the fashionable Republican rant about tax rates for the poor:

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/08/31/Who-Pays-No-Taxes-and-Why-Theyre-No-Pot-of-Gold.aspx#page1

“It’s wrong to rail on the 46 percent of people who don't pay income tax,” said Paul Caron, a tax professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. “A fairer analysis takes into account all taxes paid—and by this measure, everyone has tax skin in the game,” he said.

It will be hard to change or eliminate the social policy-related tax provisions that knock millions of Americans off the federal income tax rolls, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. Not only would it risk alienating key voting blocs, such as senior citizens, but it could have a serious economic impact, he said. “It’s going to hurt the economy more if you raise taxes on the poor than the rich, because the poor spend every penny they’ve got,” Williams said. “If you take a dollar away from them in tax credits, that’s a dollar they don’t spend.”

Not everyone considers these tax breaks untouchable, however. “This proliferation of credits and benefits at the bottom has really gone too far,” said Chris Edwards, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. “There are all kinds of pro-market policies the government can do to offset any harm caused to these people if it’s going to withdraw benefits,” he said. Repealing tariffs on goods from China and other countries would lower the cost of clothing and food for low-income Americans to balance the absence of tax credits, he said.

Can you believe the argument advanced by the Koch er, Cato Institute senior fellow? (sarcasm filter on) Yes, let's go out of our way to withdraw benefits from the lower income 50% of American citizens who control a whopping 2.5% of US wealth!! (sarcasm filter off)