(Washington, D.C.; Right Commentary): Last Thursday, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said that paying more of your income in taxes is the patriotic thing to do. Well Joe, if that’s the case, then I’m a “Yankee Doodle Boy,” because I pay an incredible amount of my hard earned cash in taxes. Chances are - you’re probably pretty patriotic as well… if you have a job, have a degree, and work for a living.

“Samuel Johnson once said ‘patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel’”, said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “I say tax increases are the last refuge of politicians who won’t govern, and Obama and Biden have put the two ideas together.”

Amen.

I have already written about why the Democratic ticket’s approach is a sham. Despite their claims to the contrary - Democratic proposals result in massive tax hikes for all Americans. The majority of this increased tax will go directly into wealth-transfer payments, subsidies, and socialized services. The Obama-Biden ticket has proposed over 800 billion dollars in new federal spending, the bulk of which is on social services. I find it amusing (and somewhat offensive) to tie my patriotism in paying taxes to the Democrats plans to provide socialized health care, education, and welfare to an increasing number of Americans.

“Eat the Rich,” has been changed to “Do your civic Duty” in paying taxes, according to the Obama-Biden campaign. Put simply, it is once again Democrats invoking class warfare. The Obama-Biden economic plan is undoubtedly the Global War against American Capitalism.

Under the economic plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes. Sen. Obama claims that people earning less would receive a tax cut. How much of a cut is unclear - considering the lower 50% of taxpayers pay less than 4% of the total revenues collected through income taxes (and will drop to roughly 3.5% by the end of 2008).

Put simply - if making the “rich” patriotic is the goal - they’re already dancing to Uncle Sam’s tune in full patriotic regalia - even James Montogomery Flagg would be astounded.

According to the Office of Tax Analysis, in 2002 the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid more than one-half (53.8 percent) of all individual income taxes, but reported roughly one-third (30.6 percent) of income.

Even more, according to the same analysis, the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual income taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent of individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this group’s tax share has grown faster than their income share.

Explain to me again Joe how they’re paying less taxes than they did under Reagan? Clearly that’s false.

For Democrats, it always sounds great to tax the “rich” (a phrase that is a moving target with the Obama-Biden ticket, meaning anyone making more than $75K a year at times). I suppose it’s good rhetoric because Democrats and their supporters have a co-dependency relationship. Supporters need the socialized programs and cradle-to-grave care, because Democrats force them into being unable to care for themselves. Case in point, the reality of who is at the cutoff line might mean the difference between a robust economy and one that is in permanent stagnation.

According to most recent IRS data, two-thirds of small business profits are earned in households making at least $250,000 per year. This means that the Obama-Biden “patriot” plan would cripple small business owners who are in large measure responsible for the generation of jobs and economic activity. By the Obama-Biden campaign’s own admission, this tax rate would approach 50 percent.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I think driving small business into the ground is distinctly UN-American. As Coolidge said, “The Business of America…. is business.”

Sen. Obama himself has admitted that his tax hike plan would negatively affect economic behavior. During an interview aired during the Sept. 7 edition of ABC’s This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Obama if he would still enact tax increases if there was a recession upon taking office. Obama replied: “I think we’ve got to take a look and see where the economy is. I mean, the economy is weak right now. The news with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae I think, along with the unemployment numbers, indicates that we’re fragile.”

Why should Patriotism take a back seat to economics? If it is our civic duty to pay more in income taxes, Sen. Biden, is it not also our civic duty to accept less in terms of economic activity? Accept more hardship in our employment? Sacrifice more of our freedom and income to pay for those who refuse to be accountable for themselves? Why shoud we not tax more and more and more given the laudible benefits of it. I mean - isn’t it time for the rich to “come in on the deal” as Joe suggests?

One final thought for my dear readers. Not all taxes are income taxes, and it’s those taxes you should be most attuned to and most worried about. One proposal that continues to kick around the Obama platform is the elimination of the FICA tax limit. Payroll deductions for Social Security taxes occurs on the first $102K of wages. Obama wants that cap eliminated - again- under the guise of making the “evil rich” pay more in taxes. The result act would undeniably be the largest tax increase in U.S. history, with over $600 billion in new taxes over the first five years alone. That tax increase would fall primarily on upper-middle-class families and small businesses; again, families who make modest incomes, send their kids to public schools, and try to pay the mortgage and all of their obligations. Such an enormous tax increase would unequestionably (and even by Obama’s omission) hurt the U.S. economy and cost jobs. Also, it would do relatively little to fix Social Security. Studies show that removing the tax cap altogether would extend the solvency of Social Security by only seven years.

To paraphrase popular culture… don’t tax me bro! Please! Don’t tax me!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Uncle Sam the Loan Shark
• Shooting Craps - Vegas comes up “snake-eyes!”
• Obama’s tax plan is a sham…
• Treasury Secretary Paulson - “Markets are Calmer Now”
• It’s is time to drill for OIL in ANWR