Readers Write - Taxing the Middle Class

Letter to the Editor

“If you are a family making less than $250,000 a year, your taxes will not go up,” said Barack Obama many, many times. That promise is officially broken, as of the first day of 2013, even before his second term starts.

Obama has spoken incessantly of the rich needing to “pay their fair share.” That was his singular goal in the recent fiscal cliff negotiations. And he succeeded! The final bill included a tiny incremental income tax increase for those who earn over $400,000 per year.

The only problem is that the deal did not address a previously-scheduled 2% increase in the payroll tax. That 2% increase is now the law of the land too. If you earn a paycheck (hello middle class!) you just got a brand new 2% tax for 2013. Just look at your next paycheck. For a family with a $50,000 annual income, you just lost $1,000 you were promised you’d never lose.

So, just to keep score, the people who got nailed are: 1) everybody who earns a paycheck, and 2) those who earn over $400,000 per year. That’s fair right? That puts those rich people in their place, don’t you think?

If you go to the White House website (whitehouse.gov) right now, you will see a heading that reads “Relief for Middle Class Families” and the statement: “Thanks to a bipartisan agreement, 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up.” Obama used to promise that your “taxes” wouldn’t go up, but now he’s talking about “income taxes.” Pay no attention to that payroll tax behind the curtain!

In the recent negotiations, Obama spent all his effort making sure to stick it to the rich. But he conveniently forgot to help out the hardworking employees who are the backbone of this country. And now you – the middle class – get stuck with Obama’s tax bill.

Happy New Year.

Barbara Martin
Former Darke County Republican Chairman