Tax Cuts Anyone?

Senator Barack Obama, one of the democratic candidates running for President, proposed a tax cut that would reduce taxes for the middle class and elderly. Although I believe that reducing taxes might be benificial for individuals struggling with having enough money to support their family, I do not agree with his plan to increase the amount of money wealthier individuals have to pay.

Democrats think that wealth should be evenly distributed while Republicans believe that they earned their money, so wealthy people should not have to give it away to others. This does not mean that Republicans are selfish and not willing to help our country, but the parties just have differing opinions. Well that is at least what i believe being a Republican :) On September 18, 2007, Barrack proposed a plan to cut down taxes for the middle class and elderly up to eighty billion dollars a year. His means of paying for these tax cuts would be to raise capital gains taxes on the wealthy. He hopes to reach out to the working middle class Americans and show his support for them. He wants to make the gap between the rich and poor smaller instead of widening as it is now. One of the most interesting statements was, “later, aides said the top rates would be 20 percent to 28 percent. Most people now pay 15 percent on capital gains, with lower-income people eligible for a 5 percent rate.” (1) I thought this statement was very interesting, but definitely unfair. The jump from fifteen to twenty-eight is huge.

I see Obama’s speech and plan to lower taxes for the middle class and elderly as a way of getting more voters. He is appealing to the general public because he knows that a majority of Americans are in the middle class. However, I do not think that making the upper class pay more is just. They worked very hard for their money and enough of it is already being taken out of their paycheck. Imagine working for an hour only to have about a little more than a third of it taken away. And what about all the talk about providing universal health care? Who will pay for that? Of course, wealthy Americans through their tax dollars. Yes i agree the gap between the rich and poor should be closed, but it isn't easy seeing money well earned being forked over to the government.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/us/politics/19obama.html