"Barbara O’Brien’s wide-ranging account of Zen history is conveyed with a master storyteller’s ability to keep the forest from getting lost in a myriad of trees. Wearing her scholarship lightly, she blends just the right amount of skepticism about her hagiographic sources with a deep appreciation for the Dharma." — Barry Magid, author of
Nothing Is Hidden and
Ending the Pursuit of Happiness Order here!
Hmmm.
Something tells me, that we 47% percent pay more in taxes than Mittens.
The Mitt campaign, month by month:
Drip.
Drip.
Flush!
Drip.
Drip.
Flush.
Drip.
Drip.
Flush.
Flush.
FLUSH!!!
That’s the most honest thing I’ve ever heard him say – he’s clearly not dancing around his true beliefs in that video (wish I knew the context, who he was talking to). I’ve seen the same kind of beliefs (and hatred toward all Democrats who are by definition “parasites”) expressed by wingnuts in comments in many places. I sure hope he has the guts to voice this in the debates.
Yes, there is a choir he is preaching to.
What amazes me is that you still find 47% or so that’ll vote for whomever the GOP turkey is no matter how stupid of offensive he might be.
The key thing is that 47% number he bats around. I’ve been seeing this number for a long time from wingnuts, it’s taken as an article of faith by them, and apparently by Romney. I find it really hard to believe that 47% of the eligible voting population is paying no income tax. At the very least, I’d like to see that number broken out by situation.
There’s a substantial minority that don’t make enough money to pay federal income tax, but they still pay FICA taxes. Very few people pay no federal taxes at all.
Pretty good when you can reduce democracy down to a formula.
Ok i just saw this video on the Ed show. I turned on the tv and there it was. I came here to say something about it and you are all over it.. what a relief not to have to make a OT comment!
Isnt it ironic the mr romeny knows how much income tax that 47% of the nation pays (and we are not applying for the job of president) and yet we have no idea what he pays( or does not pay)?? Really mitt you wanna go THERE??? You wanna talk taxes???
Most people can figure out the real welfare queens are the mega wealthy like mitt who rip of this country by shipping his money off shore.. the rest of us consider money we hide from the government as tax evasion.
This video is a outrage and I condemn it’s content. This is no more “America’s values” then the anti Muslim video mitt claimed should have been defended as ” America’s values “. If he thinks this represents the values of this nation he needs to seek help.
I know I’m not allowed to make Nazi analogies because it show I’m just an intellectual goon..But, does any see Adolf Eichmann in that video?
“I never harmed a Jew..I was just a logistics man making sure the trains ran on time.”
oh and P.S… this is only a part of a hour long tape. More clips will be coming. And Romney and his campaign say they stand behind this .. AND wait till you hear what was going on at this same home on a different date( hint , it was not as slimey as mitts visit) – wow…look who mitt is having raise money for him.
I’ve had trouble getting my head around the 47% number too. There have been years I’ve made very little, and I still owed income tax. As I figured it, if you filed singly last year and took the standard deduction, you would owe federal income tax if you made as little as $11,350, even if you qualified for the earned income credit. Clearly there are plenty of working poor people who do pay income taxes.
According to The Fiscal Times half of those who don’t pay federal income tax make less than their standard deduction and personal exemptions. Another 22% are senior citizens, who have a larger standard deduction and possibly tax-exempt income. Another 15% use the earned income credit or the child credit. And 13% may have a good income, but their itemized deductions zero out their tax liability.
Interestingly, 7,000 millionaires are included in the number that did not owe federal income taxes last year.
It is also worth noting that state income taxes are generally quite regressive.
The Tax Policy Center has lots of good information.
There are obviously plenty of things wrong with Romney’s comments. And one of them is the idea that this 47% who didn’t pay federal income taxes is Obama’s base. I’d like to see the percentage of that 47% that votes Republican. I imagine it is roughly the same as that of the general population.
Moonbat — Romney was at a fundraiser, a $50,000 a plate fundraiser. He was talking to big donors.
As to people who don’t pay federal income taxes — the elderly, some students and very low income workers. And those who live off of trust funds and investments who do not do work of some sort for a salary. It all depends on how much money you have or don’t have. And let’s not forget those whose accountants find ways to reduce their income.
Here is another breakdown of the people who don’t pay federal income taxes from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: 61% are workers who pay payroll taxes, 22% are over 65, and the remaining 17% includes students, the jobless, and the disabled.
Surprise, surprise. Americans who file, but do not owe federal income taxes are disproportionally from red states.
If R-Money isn’t counting those of us who pay payroll taxes as federal income taxpayers, then he really is full of it. (OK, never mind….)
btw, I wonder if the person who secretly recorded that video had to disguise himself* as a pimp, in order to fit in?
(*iirc, HuffPo indicated he’s male)
Oh, the Right’s been pulling that scam for a while. To most of us federal taxes are federal taxes. But “payroll” taxes, by definition, refer only to FICA taxes, so technically payroll taxes are not income taxes.
Remember the “we are the 53 percent” or whatever it was website? People posted testimonials about how they held 3 jobs and paid their taxes. The fact is, many of the people posting testimonials, assuming they were being honest, were not making enough income to be paying income tax. So even if they had some income tax withheld from their paychecks, it would have all been refunded to them. The taxes they did owe the government were FICA taxes only, and they didn’t understand the difference. So many of the “53 percent” were part of the “47 percent” and didn’t realize it.
This morning’s headlines on HuffPo:
Romney Calls For Full Video To Be Released
Response: ‘Don’t Worry, There’s More To Come’
Bugs said it best: “What a maroon.”
If you listen to Mitt’s little speech, he never sounds awkward, never has pauses.
He’s talking to his peep’s in language he’s comfortable with.
In that, he’s exactly like W. When Bush talked about war and terror and tax cuts – he was smooth as silk. Never a syllable out of place, no awkward pauses.
It’s when he tried to sound empathetic that he became a can’t walk and talk at the same time gaffe machine.
Mitt sounds insincere when he tries to sound sincere, because he isn’t sincere.
Oh, and here’s some interesting stuff about the guy who hosted that little gathering of Plutocratic Randian @$$holes:
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/09/18/mitt-romneys-donors-and-their-shameful-dependency-on-government/
Also too – it might not help Mitt with the base, if they find out his host also holds week long sex-parties – aka: orgies – on a fairly regular basis:
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/09/18/why-marc-leder-and-the-sex-parties-business-could-be-kind-of-a-big-deal/
You can follow the links from BJ to the original sources.
About those sex-parties, well, based on who’s invited to them, that’s probably the only time they aren’t excersized by fecking the poor and middle class.
Ezra Klein explains how the Republican created this situation where 47% pay no income tax, and now rail against it in order to cut the social safety net further. Also a detailed breakout of what that number is made up from (thanks earlier posters):
“That’s the most honest thing I’ve ever heard him say”
Moonbat, I agree, what I took from the video is how natural he seems, not the awkward “I have to speak to the help” robot that we usually get. I wonder if when he speaks honestly “off the cuff” if he utilizes that fake Reagan head lean and gleaming stare he’s been trained to do in public?
Well, since 1976 I’ve been paying federal income tax through payroll deductions exclusively, and in all that time I’ve paid a lot more than I got back in refunds. So poopy on you, R-Money. Show us your tax returns!!!