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Poll: Most Tea Party Supporters Say Their Taxes Are Fair

Chappy

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Excerpted from “Poll: Most Tea Party Supporters Say Their Taxes Are Fair” Posted by Stephanie Condon, CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto, “Political Hotsheet,” CBS News, April 14, 2010 2:00 PM
[SIZE="+2"]A[/SIZE]s Tea Partiers gather for today's rally in Boston, home of the original Tea Party protest in 1773, 42 percent of Tea Party supporters think the amount of income taxes they'll pay this year is unfair, according to a new CBS News/ New York Times poll.

Yet while some say the Tea Party stands for "Taxed Enough Already," most Tea Party supporters - 52 percent - say their taxes are fair, the poll shows. Just under one in five Americans say they support the Tea Party movement. …

Huh? That's counterintuitive. The majority of Tea Partiers say their taxes are fair. The New York Times analysis helps to clarify Tea Partiers’ “fierce animosity toward Washington” is not over taxes specifically but rather a “deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich.”

Agree with analysis or not these are interesting results at any rate.

Excerpted from “Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated” By KATE ZERNIKE and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN, The New York Times, Published: April 14, 2010
[SIZE="+2"]T[/SIZE]ea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, and are no more or less afraid of falling into a lower socioeconomic class, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. …
 
I'll tell you one thing, my taxes sure as **** aren't fair. I'm an independent contractor, so I get taxed as a higher rate than someone else who makes the exact same amount of money as I do because of small business taxes and such.

That's not a fair system.
 
Things I found interesting:

An overwhelming majority of Tea Party supporters, 84 percent, say the views of the Tea Party movement reflect the views of most Americans. But Americans overall disagree: Just 25 percent say the Tea Party movement reflects their beliefs, while 36 percent say it does not.

(snip)

Sixty-three percent say they get the majority of their political and current events news on television from the Fox News Channel, compared to 23 percent of Americans overall. Forty-seven percent say television is their main source of Tea Party information, the top source; another 24 percent say they get Tea Party information from the internet.

(snip)

Thirty percent of Tea Party supporters believe Mr. Obama was born in another country, despite ample evidence to the contrary. Another 29 percent say they don't know. Twenty percent of Americans overall, one in five, believe the president was not born in the United States.


(Snip)

And while the vast majority opposes the health care reform bill, 62 percent say programs like Social Security and Medicare are worth the costs to taxpayers. (The figure is even higher among Americans overall, at 76 percent.)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002529-503544.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody
 
Huh? That's counterintuitive. The majority of Tea Partiers say their taxes are fair. The New York Times analysis helps to clarify Tea Partiers’ “fierce animosity toward Washington” is not over taxes specifically but rather a “deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich.”

Agree with analysis or not these are interesting results at any rate.

A CBS News/ New York Times poll? What the hell do you expect then to come up with?

Why not use a real Poll?

When thinking about all the services provided by federal, state and local governments, 75% of voters nationwide say the average American should pay no more than 20% of their income in taxes. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters (55%) believe the average American actually pays 30% or more of their income in taxes.

Sixty-six percent (66%) believe that America is overtaxed. Only 25% disagree.

66% Say America Is Overtaxed - Rasmussen Reports

I know why, god forbid you use honest information that doesn't fit your core beliefs. :roll:
 
I'm starting to get suspicious of these polls that supposedly show who the Tea Partiers are. They all seem to contradict each other. I think the problem is the ambiguity of defining who's a Tea Partier and who isn't.
 
Something like 95% of the country have had their taxes go DOWN so far during the Obama administration.
 
Something like 95% of the country have had their taxes go DOWN so far during the Obama administration.

Tax credit = handout =/= tax cut. And don't think that the huge taxes on businesses and other things won't be passed on to any of those 95%.
 
Tax credit = handout =/= tax cut. And don't think that the huge taxes on businesses and other things won't be passed on to any of those 95%.

Did Obama raise taxes on businesses?
 
I'm starting to get suspicious of these polls that supposedly show who the Tea Partiers are. They all seem to contradict each other. I think the problem is the ambiguity of defining who's a Tea Partier and who isn't.

Exactly. The polls are highly suspect. Who are the "tea partiers" anyway? Do the pollsters go around their rallies asking questions?

The polls seem to be taken to prove a point rather than to find out information.

This little quote:

75% of voters nationwide say the average American should pay no more than 20% of their income in taxes. However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters (55%) believe the average American actually pays 30% or more of their income in taxes.

raises some interesting questions:

How may people in this country actually pay 30% or more of their income in taxes? How many pay even 20%? I can see where anyone paying that much would think that taxes are too high, but how many people in general even know how much they have paid?

Most people just look at how much they either have to kick in or how much they get back at the end of the year.
 
I'll tell you one thing, my taxes sure as **** aren't fair. I'm an independent contractor, so I get taxed as a higher rate than someone else who makes the exact same amount of money as I do because of small business taxes and such.

That's not a fair system.

Yup, for small businesses, taxes are crushing. The company I work for pays corporation tax, franchise tax, unemployment tax, medicare tax, property tax, not only on the premises, but on what is inside, including inventory, sales tax (but we do collect that from the customer, so maybe it shouldn't count), a fee on our sign, permit fees, state registration fees, registration fees for EACH municipality we do work in (and there are a lot of them), taxes built into the fees on refrigerants we recover and recycle, taxes on our phone service, which are at a higher rate than residential, the same on the water we use, the same on our internet service, and the same on the electricity we use.

Of course, we do pass all this on to the consumer, as do all other contractors. Ever wonder why your A/C and heating system costs about 3 times as much as it did 10 years ago? Part of it is mandated higher efficiency standards - OK, no problem with that. It means fewer power plants have to be built, resulting in less reliance on foreign oil. Part of it is the switchover to new refrigerants which contain no chlorine, meaning compressors and coils in new units must be larger and more expensive - OK, no problem with that, as this is helping to shrink the ozone hole. And, of course, part of it is the huge increase in taxes. Now that, I have a problem with, but like I said, we merely pass those costs on to the consumer. When our taxes go up, it is you who pays it, not us.

While you are at your Tea Party, screaming about being overtaxed, think about more than just income tax. You are being taxed to death in ways you never imagined.
 
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I'll tell you one thing, my taxes sure as **** aren't fair. I'm an independent contractor, so I get taxed as a higher rate than someone else who makes the exact same amount of money as I do because of small business taxes and such.

That's not a fair system.

It's because you'remore interested in doing the, "right thing", than playing by the rules that the government has set forth.
 
Something like 95% of the country have had their taxes go DOWN so far during the Obama administration.

Whatta lie! Show us reduced taxes, since PBO took dictatorial powers.
 
Yup, for small businesses, taxes are crushing. The company I work for pays corporation tax, franchise tax, unemployment tax, medicare tax, property tax, not only on the premises, but on what is inside, including inventory, sales tax (but we do collect that from the customer, so maybe it shouldn't count), a fee on our sign, permit fees, state registration fees, registration fees for EACH municipality we do work in (and there are a lot of them), taxes built into the fees on refrigerants we recover and recycle, taxes on our phone service, which are at a higher rate than residential, the same on the water we use, the same on our internet service, and the same on the electricity we use.

Of course, we do pass all this on to the consumer, as do all other contractors. Ever wonder why your A/C and heating system costs about 3 times as much as it did 10 years ago? Part of it is mandated higher efficiency standards - OK, no problem with that. It means fewer power plants have to be built, resulting in less reliance on foreign oil. Part of it is the switchover to new refrigerants which contain no chlorine, meaning compressors and coils in new units must be larger and more expensive - OK, no problem with that, as this is helping to shrink the ozone hole. And, of course, part of it is the huge increase in taxes. Now that, I have a problem with, but like I said, we merely pass those costs on to the consumer. When our taxes go up, it is you who pays it, not us.

While you are at your Tea Party, screaming about being overtaxed, think about more than just income tax. You are being taxed to death in ways you never imagined.

You forgot payroll tax, which is the worst.
 
Something like 95% of the country have had their taxes go DOWN so far during the Obama administration.

that is the 95% who pay about 20% of the taxes. Those of us who pay the vast majority of the taxes are going to see massive tax hikes in the next year

and if you lower taxes on 10% of the tax base that really is not as great as the obamunists claim

the group that pays about 60-70% of the income taxes are going to have their taxes raised

its dishonest to confuse number of voters (many of whom really don't pay taxes) with those who actually pay most of the burden
 
that is the 95% who pay about 20% of the taxes. Those of us who pay the vast majority of the taxes are going to see massive tax hikes in the next year

How massive? 3 percent?
 
How massive? 3 percent?

wrong

35-39% is a 10% increase in taxes. If someone is making a fair amount from investments-then it is going to be much higher depending whether dividends will go from 15% to 39% or merely to 21%

same with Capital gains. Then there are increases in other taxes as well such as the MC tax going up another percentage point or so which is close to a 30% increase

then there is the millionaire surcharge that is being considered which means another 5% on top of any income over one million dollars.

of course the death tax reverts to the million dollar level next year as well
 
Whatta lie! Show us reduced taxes, since PBO took dictatorial powers.

Apart from hyperbole about dictatorial powers, here you go.

Excerpted from “Ignorance Is Bliss for the Tea Party Crowd” posted by bruce bartlett, “capitalgainsandgames: Washington, Wall Street & Everything in Between,” 20 mar 2010
… [[SIZE="+2"]F[/SIZE]]ederal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800.

According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. The Tax Policy Center, a private research group, estimates that close to 90% of all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000 income range. For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, the average tax cut was $472; for those making between $50,000 and $75,000, the tax cut averaged $522. No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies. …
 
It's because you'remore interested in doing the, "right thing", than playing by the rules that the government has set forth.

Doesn't bother me all that much when all is said and done. I live comfortably and can afford the taxes.

I was just pissed off when I posted that because I literally posted it within minutes of writing the check for my tax bill this year. :lol:
 
Doesn't bother me all that much when all is said and done. I live comfortably and can afford the taxes.

I was just pissed off when I posted that because I literally posted it within minutes of writing the check for my tax bill this year. :lol:

Liberal Nate Silver writes on Twitter: "This is the one day every year when I consider becoming a Republican."
 
It is interesting that taxes they are not paying upsets them so. :doh

You did see the other poll that showed they were wealthier, right? Kind of contradicts the idea that they are going to be beneficiaries of those cuts which were generally for the less wealthy.


And it ignores the fact that they are worried about the future raising of taxes that will likely follow from the increased spending, especially for wealthier Americans.
 
You did see the other poll that showed they were wealthier, right? Kind of contradicts the idea that they are going to be beneficiaries of those cuts which were generally for the less wealthy.


And it ignores the fact that they are worried about the future raising of taxes that will likely follow from the increased spending, especially for wealthier Americans.

Not really. Even they are not seeing any real tax hikes. And the question boils down to how reasonable their fears are. They sure weren't out protesting Bush's spending. You have to question their reasoning, . . . a lot.
 
Not really. Even they are not seeing any real tax hikes.

Well, I did say "future". Obviously the future wouldn't necessarily manifest itself in the present ;)

And the question boils down to how reasonable their fears are. They sure weren't out protesting Bush's spending. You have to question their reasoning, . . . a lot.

Bush also cut taxes for the wealthy. Obama has stated he wants to increase taxes for the wealthy. He was pretty clear about that.

When you look at the increased spending that has occurred, and the clearly stated desire from Obama regarding raising taxes on the wealthy, the fears are completely reasonable.

As far as protesting Bush's spending, I know for a fact that many people on this site who are promoting the tea party were very much up in arms over the first stimulus bill that passed under Bush's watch.

On top of that, the Tea Party has garnered quite a bit of support from libertarians, many of whom were very vocally against Bush's spending.

Are there Republicans who are jumping on the tea party bandwagon for personal political gain? Absolutely. Partisanship unfortunately permeates every movement in this country these days, sickening people like me who despise the two-party system.

But there also happen to be quite a few people in the Tea Party movement who think like me and despise both parties and the partisanship nonsense they spew.
 
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