You know, his blog wasn't always this bad. Maybe since his listserve got shutdown, he's been on his own a bit more?
People, Ezra thinks you don't know how tax brackets work and that you don't know the difference between a tax cut and a tax increase.
Let me beak it down for him:
If your tax rates go down from where they are, that is a tax cut. If your tax rates go up from where they were, that is a tax increase. If they stay the same, then there is no cut or increase.
So it makes no sense (except I guess in Ezra-world) to even use the phrase "Obama tax cuts" which appears in some variation more than 5 times in his post.
In fact, his post ends with the following bit of awesomeness:
"Under Obama's tax plan, everyone gets a tax cut"
How could the Post fire Dave Weigel and leave this guy on the payroll?
4 comments:
re: "If your tax rates go down from where they are, that is a tax cut. If your tax rates go up from where they were, that is a tax increase. If they stay the same, then there is no cut or increase.If your tax rates go down from where they are, that is a tax cut. If your tax rates go up from where they were, that is a tax increase. If they stay the same, then there is no cut or increase."
Why is it not equally valid to define cuts/increases against the status quo tax code? A "cut" means you pay less than under the status quo, an "increase" means you pay more. The fact that the status quo will cause tax rates to go up does not mean that someone who leaves things alone has "raised taxes".
The 2011 tax increases (the status quo) were of course the decision of a Republican administration and Congress.
If Obama and the Democrats cut some 2011 rates to offset the Bush tax increases, they are not taking actions which increase anyone's taxes.
Yes!Keep dancin' on the head of that pin DD!! If the WaPo fires Ezra you can take his place.
Ah, but this leaves out hidden taxes. For example, they could lower your income tax but put a tax on gasoline or increase the VAT or even increase taxes further up on the production/supply chain.
Sadly, these taxes are seldom counted..
Max said "Sadly, these taxes are seldom counted.."
Agree and I want to count inflation as a tax, too.
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