Obama Calls Higher Income Taxes the Wealthy Will Pay Under His Plan ‘Chump Change’

What i don't understand is why people making 250k a yr are taxed at the same rate as people making 5,10,20 times that much??? Dosent make sense to me!! the system is a joke!welfare is totally out of control and i dont believe in paying for people who CHOOSE not to work!

Regardless of how much money people make, it is just that. Their money. I understand we have to build a strong economy but what about the single individuals without children who pay into the system? A single individual pays more taxes from their paycheck than one with a child or children. People with children have a list of agencies & organizations willing to assist them with housing, food, and healthcare whereas a single individual is ineligible for the programs.
When income tax time rolls around, the people with children who paid little taxes recieves their money back and an extra $1500 per child. A single individual is then given a measly $700-800 rebate after they've paid into the system. It's like being taxed, double.
That is ludacris and a smack in the face to all the hardworking people who are motivated to achieve a better life. I'm not saying one should be greedy but to the parents who scam & scheme to work 4-5 months out the year and still recieve all that money back, while single individuals work all year long and recieve peanuts is a mockery. It's like the harder you work, the more they take. Do nothing and you'll be living the American Dream.

I can't believe the riot over taxes. We have a business and I pray for the day that we make enough we can pay the "extra" taxes because that means we have succeeded! We came to life with nothing and we will leave this life with nothing. What we have in our life on earth should be used to help ourselves and others. Taxes build roads, build businesses, send kids to school. Shut up you whiners. If you make that much more it will not hurt you to pay a little more and if it does than you are living above your means or in excess, that is what is wrong with the republican America.

Warren Buffet also stated that he would not have picked ANY of the presidential candidates, INCLUDING Obama, to run his company when he retires because none of them are qualified. If Obama isn't qualified to run one single American company- Berkshire Hathatway- then why is he qualified to run America? Next time someone quotes Warren Buffet, remember that question. We are electing completely unqualified people to run this country and they have collectively run it into the ground. What makes anyone think that giving the government MORE money and creating MORE government entities and programs to figure out how to spend it will EVER work? What government-run entity has EVER been successful, either fiscally or socially? And we want to Federalize health care? Has everyone in this country gone completely mad?

3K on 500K is chump change. Trust me.

Also, note that Warren Buffet, who is no "socialist", supports Obama and has high prize for his economic plan. I don't think people on this net should double guess Warren B. on what is good for the economy an capitalism of this country.

Look, Obama is a socialist in the closet. his friend and mentor Bill Ayers is an outspoken Marxist anarchist and unrepentant terrorist.

Alan Colmes spins this as saying but look at who Obama is also friends with, doesnt this count?

Here is an analogy for anyone who wants to go down that road: If you have a bowl of soup and are eating it outside under a tree and a big bird drops a turd right into the bowl of soup? what do you say or do? oh well its still good Chicken soup with veggies that are good for you?

Some people would say no, toss it out, its polluted. Those are the people who say Obama's shady past and continual links to anti Americans has spoiled it all. Toss out Obama, he is polluted.

But the hardcore democrats who support Obama anyway? close their eyes, stir the soup and pretend everything is okay.

If anyone actually bothered to look at the Tax Policy Center link, the assumptions laid out to get those figures were absurd. It was assumed that a family would have $75K in deductions. Because of phaseouts on deductions as income increases, to get to that $75K figure for an itemized deduction, the taxpayer would have to start out with about $100K in deductions. It also assumed that 40% of the deductions were based on mortgage interest, 40% on state income taxes and local property taxes and 20% on charitable donations. Really, 20% to charity? Hell, Joe Biden's annual contributions avereaged out to less than 1% per year. Even Obama, before he gave a lot the year his second book came out, averaged less than 3% a year. How many taxpayers in America does anyone think actually contribute 20% of their pretax income to charity?
The chart also jumped from 200K (which according to Obama, means no change) to $1M. Where was the famous $250K figure where your taxes would actually make that first 3% jump? I fall into the current 33% tax bracket. I just pulled my 2007 tax return. The jump from 33% to 36% is $7,947.83 for me, based on all other factors concerning the calculations of taxes (current phaseout rates, lower tax brackets remaining the sames, etc.). To me, almost $8,000 isn't "chump change" - it's a semester of my daughter's college tuition.

Obama is an empty suit.

Yes, it is chump change. Believe me, if I was making $500,000 a year, paying an extra $3,363 wouldn't bother me at all. It is silly to think someone won't aim for that higher income because they would have to pay slightly higher taxes.
This is a pretend issue brought to you by the Republicans.

Kevin -

His grandmother wasn't critically ill? She just died today, so tell me, how stupid do you feel now?

dr john, where have you been? warren buffett gave a huge portion of his entire wealth to the gates foundation to try to stop infectious diseases in africa, as a doctor, how could you have missed this? before he dies, he plans on giving it all away, with small bequests to his children. it is the largest tranfer of wealth from an individual to charity in the history of our country. and they are doing real work - good work - effective work. if you really are a doctor, they could use some volunteers. i know doctors who go for a month every year. i'll post the connection if you really are interested in giving back.

Cut the salaries of all of the people in business at the top. Then you can also cut the salaries and unfair distribution of wealth caused by professional sports figures. Just look at what they get in salaries, or winning a golf tournament and add in endorsements. Figures are gross and I hear no complaining about them. Look at ticket prices, an average family can not afford to go to the games. In addition to the money we put them on pedestals and look how many of them let us down.

carl - i love your post. why are people going all crazy over somebody who makes $250K a year? my brothers all do - and they are happy to pitch in more - because we came from dirt poor - and they know what a little bit of help cn do. we all need it. america has got to have a middle class to survive. clinton got it. obama gets it. bush did not - and wwas over the worst economy since the depression. mccain is simply clueless - but at least he used to be honest enough to admit it.

I think what Obama really meant to say was that GOP Chumps like Matt from Iowa are going to have to Change their attitudes from the ME FIRST era of the Bush Administration if this country is ever going to get out of the rut it is in.

What Obama could have also mentioned that George Bush and all the chumps, like John McCain are the greatest redistributors in our history.

Bush and the GOP took the future wealth of Americans (our children and grandchildren's money) and gave it to present day millionaires and billionaires. How is that? Those tax cuts of the Bush era all came from BORROWED MONEY JUST PILED ON TOP OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

SO, either some of you Chumps are going to have to CHANGE or our future generations will be completely screwed.

$5 Trillion added in George Bush's administration, largely due to tax cuts that were not paid for. Meanwhile the ratio of our national debt as a percent of GDP is now over 70%.

Fool me once - Ronald Reagan increased the debt as a % of GDP by 20%.

Fool me twice - George H.W. Bush increased the debt by roughly 13%.

Fool me three times!!! - George W. Bush increased the debt by 15% as a % of GDP.

(The Debt went down as a % of GDP under both Carter and Clinton).

So, here is the message. Chumps, CHANGE!

You know, no one likes taxes, but if we are going to wage wars overseas and build needed infrastructure at home, and bail out our "free markets", then someone has to foot the bill.

"Why did he go over seas to visit our guys but he wouldn't even shake the hands of the guys that supported him" . ...

Sorry Kevin, if you believe Senator Obama wouldn't shake the hands of our military personnel overseas, you've bought into a whole line of right wing media crap that is just not truthful.

Check out veterans organizations to see who they believe has done better by the service men and women - you'll find they rate Senator Obama far higher than McCain.

P.S. - the 'examples' you site where he supposedly shows his 'hatred of America' are not that strong or convincing Kevin. They're as weak as the fact he was condemned for a while for not wearing a flag pin. That does not mean you 'hate' your country. We've seen many pictures since then of McCain without a flag pin during his campaign speeches.

I wish you the best Kevin and hope you and your family are not hit too hard by this current economic mess.

Yes, a 2.8% tax increase making a million and a 1.6% increase on 500,000 is chump change.

Well you tell me to do some research when i already have. Why don't you go to a book store sit with a cup of java and read his books for yourself. He doesn't place his hand over his heart for the pledge, he doesn't belive in our national anthem, and i am sure there are tons of other things that he has or hasn't done to substantiate my feelings. It really doesn't matter what you or i or any other american thinks or feels on these subjects because in all actuallity we don't vote the president into office. We place that job into the hands of our state representatives in the electoral college. They do not have to vote as we vote. So no harm no foul, and i appologize for my views thoughts and feelings, but this is america and i just don't see him as an american. When i look at him i see someone that hates our country. Why did he go over seas to vist our guys but he wouldn't even shake the hands of the guys that supported him? He stayed for one day and then was gone. He spent more time in hawaii with a sick grandmother that was not in critical condition than he did with our boys that are giving thier limbs and lives to defend our country from TERRORISM! Palin went over there and stayed for a week. She dressed in full gear and went to the front lines. I have more respect for her than someone who looks down at the people defending our countries beliefs.

Senator Obama's stance on coal is very clear:

"I am a big proponent of clean-coal technology and I want us to move rapidly in developing those sequestration technologies that are required. A huge percentage of our electricity is generated by coal. What we need to do though is to put clean coal technology on the fast track and that means money. It means investment in research."

Kevin we both agree that some church goers (perhaps most) are hypocrites. All of us have our shortcomings; none of us is perfect.

And I also agree with you that - when not reduced to cheap and totally unfair media sound bites - Reverend Wright's sermons often 'hit the nail on the head'.

I still have no admiration for your hateful, unsubstantiated claims that Senator Obama 'hates America'.

You say Senator Obama 'hates America' because of things he said in his book - like what?

You provide no substantiation at all.

Only in Liberal La-La Land could "g*d America" be screeched from the pulpit and declared "taken out of context" when someone took offense at it.

I'm trying to think when I ever heard any minister preach "g*d America"... nope... can't think of a single time.