5 GOP Tax Myths Debunked

1-Why Shouldn't We All Pay The Same Rate?
Well, we could reinvent the wheel while we're at it. Long before there was any federal income tax or payroll tax there was a thing called tariffs. These tariffs were imposed by the Federal and State governments on goods being imported and exported in the US. Tariffs were paid 100% by the richest and most wealthy early American businessmen and if not glad to do it, THEY DID IT. And they built this country. Roads, Ports, Armies, Buildings, Our Capitol. God bless'em. And the last line of the Declaration of Independence reads..."And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

2-Lower Tax Rates Bring in More Revenue-Not Really
'It works every time it's been tried' blares the conservative radio host of your choice. But not so fast...here's how that myth breaks down. If an economy is growing at a very fast clip and increasing in size year after year, that is one thing. Under that circumstance (as was the case in 1965 when our upper rate was lowered from 91% to 70%) then it is indeed possible to garner more tax revenue at a lower rate of taxation because you are, in effect, taking a smaller bite of a bigger pie. But this is a temporary result and depends on the economy continuing to expand. And since a prime factor in the continuing growth of any economy is that a nation stay up to date on modernization and maintenance of its infrastructure, that means this formula for increasing revenue by lowering taxes must inevitably be reversed if a nation's economy is to stay strong. Nothing is static in economics!

3-Did WWII End Great Depression?
Yes and NO. What I mean by that is that WWII did prove that massive social spending, even in the most tragic circumstances does boost an economy. Think of the amazing country we could build with such spending on wise investment in our nation's structure. We owe it to those who fought in WWII to keep up what they gave us.

4-Corporations Don't Pay Taxes (they pass them on) Debunked:
This particular truthy-ism of conservatism really galls me. It's as if they are saying, 'Corporations are more powerful than our democratic system of government, they are above us and can't be touched and can do whatever they want.' This line of trash shows that modern conservatives virtually worship corporations and the super-rich.
Do they not know the philosophical underpinnings of Free Market Capitalism? If an individual thinks that they might be able to demand a higher salary from their employer, they do. And they can consider taking their service to another employer if they don't get what they want, if they can. Likewise a business or corporation will charge as much as the market will bear for their goods or services. The flip-side of this formula is that any individual or business or corporation might make more money by underpricing their competition and therefore getting more and better job offers or customers. A corporation who is taxed more, can try to recoup that loss and raise prices on their customers, but if their competitor chooses to accept a smaller profit margin and thereby gains a higher volume of the market. then they can actually make more money by charging less than the competition.
Here is the perfect test-tube example of what I'm talking about...Last year after the Dodd-Frank bill was set to limit the predatory fees banks charged at ATMs this was briefly the news of the day...

-The changes come at a time of big upheaval in the banking industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress last year, imposes new compliance requirements that could be costly for banks. It included the Durbin amendment, which would limit banks’ income from debit card fees.
Source: Credit.com (http://s.tt/15DKH)
Banks Jack Up ATM Fees, Blame Regulations
The changes come at a time of big upheaval in the banking industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress last year, imposes new compliance requirements that could be costly for banks. It included the Durbin amendment, which would limit banks’ income from debit card fees.
Source: Credit.com (http://s.tt/15DKH)
http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/03/banks-jack-up-atm-fees-blame-regulations/-

This story explained how the big banks were going to show the government that they were untouchable. The only thing is, it turned out to be wrong, because this is what actually happened...

-Bank of America dumps debit card fees
http://sundial.csun.edu/2011/11/bank-of-america-dumps-debit-card-fees/
Bank of America has abandoned a monthly $5 debit card fee, which was scheduled to begin in early 2012.The announcement came after competitors, namely Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were no longer going to exact similar fees.The bank cited customer feedback and a changing competitive marketplace as the reason for the bank’s “change of heart,” according to a Nov. 1 statement.“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” David Darnell, co-chief operating officer, said in the statement. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”

It's called Free Market Capitalism in a Democratic Republic...BABY!

5-What is My 'Fair Share' of Taxation?
Ayn Randians love to ask this question concerning tax rates. They know that there can be no innately perfect answer, so they gleefully pose it in the hopes that the conundrum will show Liberals that taxation its self is illogical. But wait a second! I say the fair tax rate for any individual should be based on the idea of what is best for society as a whole. Not to redistribute wealth, but taking into account how much government revenue is necessary to keep law and order and help the nation thrive through investments in infrastructure and modernization. And we must consider who profits most from these investments and is in the best position to contribute. This answer will always be in flux and should be based on our analysis of history, what worked and what didn't.

Life is full of questions which don't have perfect answers, but which we must make our best effort to deal with if society is to function. What is a 'fair price' for anything? In our free market the answer is 'whatever the market will bear', but we all agree that price gouging during a natural disaster should be prohibited and no one would want that to be the guideline for our government in setting fees for licenses (driving or marriage, or business) or penalties for crimes committed. None of these questions have perfect answers, but we all know they must be answered.

During the Great Depression we raised the upper tax rates on the most prosperous citizens to double or triple what they are today. That led to the USA having 45 years of unprecedented growth and prosperity. I say that today we need to learn from that lesson. I am not in favor of taking the rates back up to those levels on the wealthy, but it seems very clear that the 'fair share' the wealthy should pay needs to be moved somewhat back in that direction. Taking the upper rate back to the 35% it was during the Clinton administration would be a very wise and modest move in the right direction.