Biden calls paying higher taxes a patriotic act WASHINGTON - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that paying more in taxes is the patriotic thing to do for wealthier Americans. The Republican campaign for president calls the tax increases their Democratic opponents propose "painful" instead of patriotic.
Under the economic plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes while those earning less - the vast majority of American taxpayers - would receive a tax cut.
"We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people," Biden said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Noting that wealthier Americans would indeed pay more, Biden said: "It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."
Once of the things I value most about my childhood in Texas was the rural lifestyle we enjoyed on an off and on basis. I learned an appreciation for nature first hand by chasing horned-toads and watching black ants and red ants have grisly wars in the buffalo grass. I learned to identify several species of animal by their tracks or scat as well as honing a natural instinct for direction and details.
It was a wonderful life.
But somehow, I don't get the feeling that this type of natural appreciation is what Don Southall was talking about when he addressed the Taylor County Commissioners earlier this week. No, his appreciation is called by names such as "tax avoidance" or "not paying your fair share" or "freeriders".
It's a habitual aversion to government - good or bad - that the "Republican Revolution" (should be called "Republican Revulsion") brought to the foreground of far too many Texans. It's the kneejerk, "taxes bad!" mentality that is crippling the state of Texas and threatens the entire country.
At least one West Texas county won't be getting the savings on property taxes claimed by Rick Perry (of course, some of us believe NO county - West Texas or otherwise - will see the savings he promised). Lubbock County's anti-tax Republicans are finding out that there really is a limit to how much you can do with a small amount of funds.
...to a new organization formed to support his school finance tax plan, according to a story that Harvey Kronberg is reporting on Quorum Report.
Using a vehicle called "Texans for Taxpayer Relief" (a 501(c)(6) entity) they plan to raise and spend a million a week over the next five to six weeks to fund advertising to build support for the governor's plan - apparently while the lege is discussing it.
One burning question - will those contributions be subject to any disclosure at all? The website at http://taxpayerrelief.com doesn't have much to say about who is behind it.
The Dallas Morning News reports the Texas Tax Reform Commission is considering a new state business tax of around 1 percent on the gross income or gross receipts of all corporations and partnerships on their businesses in Texas.
