Perspective Keeping my eyes on the money
By THOMAS C. FOX
Charles Fox, my grandfather, was an
artist who painted houses in hard times. He was a crusty soul. The story is
told that once, when asked whom he had voted for, he belted out: Just
voted my protest.
Clement Fox, my father, was a professor who loved politics. He
defined himself as a liberal Catholic and a staunch Democrat. He lived at a
time, of course, when Catholics were Democrats.
I asked him once if he ever ran into a Republican politician he
liked. Nope, he responded. Politics is about economics and
interests, and Republicans dont represent us.
He shared that insight long before television and really big money
usurped U.S. politics and began to make a sham of our nations democratic
claims. So my fathers words rest with me as I have watched wealth become
increasingly concentrated among the relative few. In my darker moments, I see
the greed and money-driven politics of both Republican and Democratic parties
as having separated from most of the interests of the folks I know. Then I fall
back and, for my fathers sake, want to give the Democrats another
chance.
For now I am appalled by the way Republican hopeful George W. Bush
is portraying himself as a candidate for real people while at the
same time peddling a tax-cutting scheme that overwhelmingly favors the rich and
super-rich.
To learn more of how Bushs proposed tax cuts will help
the real people or anyone else I looked in on the Washington-based
Citizens for Tax Justice, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that
follows these matters.
First, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, Bushs tax
reduction package is a staggering $1.9 trillion, a figure the group sees as
irresponsible and excessive. The tax cut would essentially use up all
projected budget surpluses for the next 10 years, excluding surpluses in
the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
And whose economic interests are being served?
According to the Citizens analysis, no less than 43 percent
of all the tax cuts would go to the top 1 percent of income earners,
those making more than $319,000 a year. The average tax cut for the person in
this top 1 percent would be no less than $46,000 a year!
By contrast, the average Bush tax cut for the bottom 60 percent of
taxpayers would be only $227 a year.
However, this is not the picture the Bush camp wishes to paint. A
fact sheet accompanying George W. Bushs Dec. 1, 1999,
announcement of his tax plan states, The Bush tax cuts benefit all
Americans but reserve the greatest percentage reduction for the lowest income
families.
According to Citizens for Tax Justice, this statement is simply
false.
The way Bush plans to achieve much of the tax cut is through
reducing personal income tax marginal rates. The step looks simple enough --
until you start adding up the gains and losses. At that point you begin to
wonder how gullible people can be. Or how much Madison Avenue can sell a
candidate.
According to Citizens for Tax Justice, the Bush tax cut plan would
reduce each of the current top two income tax rates, 39.6 percent and 36
percent, to 33 percent; the current 31 percent rate to 25 percent; the current
28 percent rate to 25 percent. The current 15 percent tax rate would be
retained over most of its range and a new 10 percent bottom bracket would apply
over about a quarter of the range of the current 15 percent bracket.
This looks innocuous and even attractive to some at the bottom.
But look again at the numbers. The plan would cut total federal taxes for the
lowest fifth of income earners from an average of $756 a year now to $714, a
reduction of only $42 annually. Taxpayers in the middle of the income scale
would see their average federal tax liability cut from $6,195 to $5,742, a
reduction of $453.
All the while, those at the very top would be getting that $46,000
cut.
I keep thinking that the person who wrote this plan, along with
candidate Bush, has a lot of gall. I know what Charles would say:
Protest! Clement would insist I keep my eyes on the money. I plan
to do both.
Tom Fox is NCR publisher and can be reached at
tcfox@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, October 6,
2000
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