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You are not getting screwed.
A common Twitter theme right now is now the middle class gets screwed - paying all the taxes, not getting the benefits. The reality is the opposite - the middle class pays little taxes and gets huge benefits, and that is driving the deficits. (1/)
A common Twitter theme right now is now the middle class gets screwed - paying all the taxes, not getting the benefits. The reality is the opposite - the middle class pays little taxes and gets huge benefits, and that is driving the deficits. (1/)
CBO shows that the bottom 60% of families - on average - pay $5,000 in taxes and get back $19,000 in direct benefits, plus $6,300 in public goods like defense and infrastructure. That is a 500% return on their taxes. Spending breakdown below. (2/)
Taxes? The middle class pays less than 5% in income taxes (and lower-incomes pay less than zero). Yes, payroll taxes count - but those go to SocSec and Medicare. That means many are paying little-to-nothing for everything else Washington does (3/)
And what about those payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare? Yes, the middle class comes out way head again. (4/)
In fact, it is middle class Social Security and Medicare benefits -- far exceeding lifetime contributions into the system -- that drive soaring long-term deficits. (5/)
We all hear about the company or billionaire that didn't pay taxes last year. But in the aggregate (in actual taxes paid), we have the most progressive tax code in the OECD, even adjusting for income inequality. And our corporate taxes are in line with other countries too. (6/)
I've spent 20 years writing reports & legislation to stop wasteful spending. But we see big numbers and assume its a huge part of the budget. $4B in aid to countries we dislike may be worth killing -its also 0.1% of the federal budget, $12/person (less since borrowed anyway) (7/)
So people get this distorted view that the rich don't pay taxes (middle class pays all!) and all the spending is diverted to waste, pork, foreign aid, corporate subsidies. And demagogues play up this "you're getting screwed" narrative because it wins loyalty to them. (8/)
Really, CBO and OMB do good work showing where your money goes. Check out the historical tables below
(no, these aren't "Trump numbers" - they are annually prepared by civil service staff and match those of CBO). (9/)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/
(no, these aren't "Trump numbers" - they are annually prepared by civil service staff and match those of CBO). (9/)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/
So yes, eliminate wasteful spending, and close tax loopholes for rich people.
But don't fall for demagogues & victimology. The middle class is not getting screwed. America shovels more benefits to the middle class per-tax-dollar than pretty much any developed country. (10/10)
But don't fall for demagogues & victimology. The middle class is not getting screwed. America shovels more benefits to the middle class per-tax-dollar than pretty much any developed country. (10/10)
