Buffett's "Poor" Secretary

During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Barack Obama made several appeals for more redistribution of wealth. At one point he noted how unfair it was that billionaires like Warren Buffett can pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. In fact, Mr. Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, was sitting in the First Lady's box during the State of the Union address, serving as a symbol for the lack of fairness in the tax code.

Since Obama and Buffett have made such an issue out of Ms. Bosanek's taxes, repeating over and over again that she pays a higher tax rate, a Forbes columnist hypothesized about just how much Ms. Bosanek might be making. Here is what he discovered:


"The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between $100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate of twelve percent. This is below Buffett's rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand. …For all we know she earns closer to a half million each year, but that is pure speculation."

Here are a couple of points to consider. If Ms. Bosanke does in fact make that much, then she could well be one of those "evil one percenters," not exactly a model to point to if you are making a case for redistribution of wealth. But Barack Obama still wants to raise her taxes too!

He has repeatedly called for repealing portions of the Bush tax cuts and limiting deductions for individuals in her tax bracket. For the record, the top 1% of earners already pay approximately 37% of all income taxes collected. And if she doesn't make that much, then both Obama and Buffett are lying when they say she pays a higher rate than Buffett.

But what about Obama's main point -- raising taxes on really rich people like Warren Buffett? According to IRS data, just over 235,000 people reported incomes of $1 million or more on their 2009 tax returns. Combined they earned $727 billion. The federal deficit that year was $1.4 trillion. If you imposed a 100% tax rate on all 235,000 "millionaires and billionaires," it would yield enough revenue to cover just over half of the deficit. Once again, the problem in Washington is not revenue -- it's spending.


Federal Bureaucrats Owe Uncle Sam Billions

Before Barack Obama tries to squeeze billions more out of small business owners and entrepreneurs, he should start by passing the hat at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the Post Office and even the Justice Department. According to a new report from the IRS, federal employees owe more than $3.4 billion in back taxes. Here's a brief breakdown:


Postal Service employees owe nearly $270 million.

Department of Education employees owe $4.3 million.

Homeland Security employees owe $37 million.

Justice Department employees owe $17 million.

Treasury Department employees (which includes the IRS) owe more than $ 9 million.
And it was also reported that three dozen members of President Obama's White House staff owe more than $830,000 in back taxes!

Now is that fair? Why are these federal employees being paid with our tax money while they are not paying their taxes? Obama demonizes entrepreneurs, the successful, investors and a bevy of U.S. industries, but I have never heard him say a word about federal employees who aren't paying their taxes.


How Voters View State Of The Union

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, voters are not too happy with the state of our union. Just 26% feel the country is headed in the right direction, while 67% say it is not. Believe it or not, that's actually an improvement. Five months ago, 80% felt America was headed in the wrong direction. Perhaps folks are more optimistic about the future because the end of the Obama nightmare is just 285 days away and getting closer with each passing day!


Tension On The Tarmac

Yesterday Barack Obama flew to Arizona and was met on the tarmac by Governor Jan Brewer. Brewer handed the president an envelope with a handwritten letter inviting him to visit the border with her and talk about how the economy in Arizona is improving. Obama wasn't interested.

Instead, according to CBS News, "What she got was a critique. Of her book." In her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," Brewer recounts an Oval Office meeting in which she said Obama lectured her about Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law. Evidently, Obama was offended by her depiction of the meeting and took the opportunity to relay his displeasure. Surprised by the president's reaction, Brewer asked if Obama had actually read the book. He said he had read excerpts.

It was obvious from their body language that the president and the governor were having a tense exchange. When asked what transpired, Brewer told reporters yesterday, "Bottom line is that he generally wants to talk about amnesty and I want to talk about securing our border." She later added that Obama seemed "thin-skinned." Indeed he is.

Which is exactly why the GOP and the eventual nominee need to confront him relentlessly on policy, lying, disrespect for the Constitution, class warfare, wedge politics and everything else. The more they expose him, the greater the chance that his image of "coolness" and being unflappable will unravel and the public will see a man schooled in Chicago politics and radical ideology.



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