McClaughry: Bernie’s fair share

By John McClaughry

Last week I received a “Dear Fellow Vermonter” newsletter from Senator Bernie Sanders. It appeals for support of Bernie’s $3.5 trillion dollar social entitlement bill. Writes Bernie, “this $3.5 trillion investment will be paid for by demanding that the wealthiest people in our country and large profitable corporations, start paying their fair share of taxes.”

WIkimedia Commons/AFGE

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Leave aside the embarrassing fact that Bernie’s bill won’t be paid for by just the rich and the big corporations. Most of it will be paid for by middle class taxpayers and adding a trillion or two to the national debt. Let’s focus on Bernie’s idea of “fair share” — which he has never spelled out in informative detail.

According to IRS data, the top 1 percent of taxpayers (which includes households making $540,000 a year or more) take home about 21 percent of all income and pay about 40 percent of federal income taxes — which is to say, their share of the income-tax burden is about twice their share of the income.

The top 10 percent earns about 48 percent of all income and pays about 71 percent of federal income taxes.

The top half of earners make about 88 percent of the income and pay virtually all of the income taxes — more than 97 percent.

So, Bernie, what percentage of the federal income tax collections from these highest income taxpayers would you consider their fair share, so you could quit demagoging the issue?

John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/DonkeyHotey and WIkimedia Commons/AFGE

6 thoughts on “McClaughry: Bernie’s fair share

    • Bernie wants it ALL
      His $3.5 TRILLION REMAKE BOONDOGGLE is just a down payment for a few years.
      BTW, at one point, it was an aim-high $6.0 TRILLION

      He want to confiscate the MEANS OF PRODUCTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES, and have the GOVERNMENT own it all, per Communist and Socialist dogmas.

      Then, he wants to distribute any income, in equal amounts to each person, in true Communist fashion, a la Marx/Engels.

      Obviously, there will be something left over to those government Dem/Progs who do the distributing.

      But, Bernie will say, I am an avowed/certified Socialist, which means each should get an amount equal to his/her/it contribution.

      Of course, elite Dem/Prog politicians will claim, THEY make BIG contributions, so THEY deserve big distributions, including owning 3 houses, in case of Bernie, and a $15-million Martha’s Vineyard spread, in case of Obama.

      Permanent-dependency people, with minimal abilities to make any contribution, should each get a small, subsistence contribution, to pay for everyday expenses, rent, entertainment, education, healthcare and retirement, which would be distributed by GOVERNMENT programs, managed by career by Dem/Progs.

      Republicans, and other despicables, would be made to toil in the government-owned means of production of goods and services, and rewarded as Dem/Progs see fit….

      Fair is square!!

  1. Oh gracious —- sillysillysilly, McClaughry and his heretical facts. You’re not listening to the revelation St. Bernie is trying to share with us. The greedy success addicts have stolen our share of the limited pie. They’ve left us with (fill in Bernie’s list of the vicissitudes of life). It’s the perfect excuse network for the failure to thrive…the villains did us wrong. We need to get it back from them. We’ll take whatever is needed to bring them down to where they’ve condemned us…but democratically…not like the Bolsheviks, right?

  2. Absolutely the right question, John. Does the $3.5T include a revision of the tax code that shows it, I wonder?

    Bernie’s rhetoric has always been the same palavering.

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