Wealth arguments don't hold up

Wealth arguments don't hold up

Sometimes it seems so easy to vote Republican. They'll lower my taxes. I'm not quite sure what else they'll do besides promise to balance the budget (but not do it). A common Republican argument on the tax issue is the rich already pay too large a percentage of total taxes and many citizens pay nothing in income taxes. They also argue that by taxing the upper-income people more it will decrease their incentive to make more money.

Is the argument that it is somehow easier for people near or below the poverty level to pay the same percentage in taxes than it is for the wealthy? Or is the argument that LeBron James or Kobe Bryant will give up their $100 million contracts so they can work at Walmart and therefore pay a smaller percentage in income taxes, or maybe David Tepper or John Paulson may give up their $4 billion income last year and become bank tellers?

Get real! These are simply ridiculous arguments regurgitated from what people hear on Fox News.

Another common Republican argument is Democrats are conducting class warfare against the upper class. Since the wealthy control the greatest percentage of wealth in our history, it's pretty obvious who is winning this war. I'm also amazed at the number of senior citizens who vote Republican, yet complain whenever cuts are made to Social Security or Medicare. Don't they realize these programs never would have existed if it had been up to Republicans?

I suppose I could argue that since my wife and I retired in our early 50s without a need for Social Security or Medicare that we should get rid of these liberal, big-spending programs. Isn't that what Republicans believe? If you yourself don't need a program, let's get rid of it.

Phil Williams

Palatine