We are the 50 percent!
I'm referring to those of us who actually work, pay federal taxes and pick up the tab for the other half who contribute very little to the common good.
The truth is that, according to recent news reports, slightly less than half of American households pay any federal income taxes at all. And despite all the garbage coming out of the mouths of Democrats and whiny Occupy protesters, the wealthiest Americans already pay the vast majority of taxes.
According to PolitiFact Ohio, the top 1 percent of income earners pay 36.7 percent of federal income taxes. The top five percent pay 58.7 percent while the top 10 percent pay 70.5 percent.
The most revealing statistic of all? The top 50 percent of income earners pay 99.7 percent of federal income taxes.
How do so many citizens get away with not paying any federal income taxes? Through popular programs that use the tax system as a means of wealth redistribution. Programs like the earned income tax credit and child tax credit allow many Americans to take from the common pot without contributing anything.
While tax time is a headache for most working people, it's Christmas for many low-income or no-income folks. No wonder our nation is so broke.
We all benefit from the many services provided by government, but only some of us have to pay for those services. The rest receive them for free, yet they are still crying that wealthy people aren't paying enough.
President Barack Obama has been running around saying that we need an equitable tax system where everyone pays their fair share. That should mean everyone who uses the highways, sends their kids to public schools, depends on police and fire protection and benefits from federal food and drug standards.
Everyone. Not just half of us.
There's only one fair way to accomplish this: a flat tax for everyone and the elimination of most or all tax credits or loopholes that benefit the rich or poor.
Liberals argue that wealthy Americans should pay higher taxes, and under a flat tax system they certainly would. If everyone had to pay 10 percent of their incomes, a person making $1 million per year would still get a much higher tax bill than a person making $10,000.
The difference is that wealthier people would not have to pay a higher percentage of their income if they make more money than the year before. That's a good thing. It's always baffled me how we can have an economy completely dependent on entrepreneurial success, with a tax system that punishes success.
Remember, it's entrepreneurial success that creates the vast majority of jobs in this country. You can kill the entrepreneur with a punitive tax code, but you will also be killing job opportunities for millions who are waiting to return to work.
Under the flat-tax scenario, millions more Americans would be contributing something to the common good. That will put more money into the national treasury, lower the national deficit and create a fairer system that benefits everyone who contributes to it.
What's our other choice? Simply allow half of the population to keep picking up the tab for everyone while the other half bleeds the system.
I have known more than a few single parents over the years who, from what I can tell, generate little or no income over the course of any given year, but get $6,000 or $7,000 back at tax time.
And guess how long those $6,000 or $7,000 checks last? In the cases I've seen, perhaps a few weeks, and the kids are lucky if they get new shoes out of the deal.
I've never understood how someone can get a tax return when they don't pay taxes. How can you get a refund on something you don't pay in the first place?
Only in America, where it's expensive to be successful and create jobs for other people, but very easy to be shiftless and wait for some type of government check to show up in the mail.
The sad fact is that our tax system and social welfare structure have made it increasingly easy for people to have children out of wedlock, or break up their own families, without having to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
A system that encourages irresponsible behavior is a system that knocks more and more people into poverty and off the tax rolls. And that creates two distinct classes of people - the providers and the users.
A successful society is one where everyone accepts a share of the responsibility to pay the public bills, regardless of their income. A flat tax, with no loopholes and no excuses, would go a long way toward restoring that very critical concept.
Steve Gunn, a former Chronicle staff writer, is the communications director of Education Action Group. He adds a local conservative voice to our columnist lineup. Write: Muskegon Chronicle, 379 W. Western, Suite 100, Muskegon, MI 49443.