In Which Mr. Deling Responds to Someone Who Might Be Professor Todd Henderson

[abelenkpe]

In Which Mr. Deling Responds to Someone Who Might Be Professor Todd Henderson

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/09/in-which-mr-deling-responds-to-someone-who-might-be-professor-todd-henderson.html#comment-6a00e551f0800388340133f467e5ab970bv

(snip)

But Mr. Henderson's (or whoever's) comment and his post were, overwhelmingly, not an argument for a small government.

They were an argument that whatever taxes were paid, he should not have to pay more than he is currently paying because it is unfair: he is not "rich".

As best as Michael O'Hare could determine (and Professor Henderson or whoever it is does not challenge him), the Henderson annual family budget is this:

$455,000 a year of income, of which:

* $60,000 in student loan payments
* $40,000 is employer contributions to 401(k) and similar retirement savings vehicles
* $15,000 is employer contributions to health insurance
* $60,000 is untaxed employee contributions to tax-favored retirement savings vehicles
* $25,000 building equity in their house
* $80,000 in state and federal income taxes
* $15,000 in property taxes
* $10,000 for automobiles
* $55,000 in housing costs for a $1M house (three times the average price in the Hyde Park neighborhood
* $60,000 in private school costs for three children
* $35,000 in other living expenses

And of this budget, Professor Henderson (or whoever) writes:

Like most working Americans, insurance, doctors’ bills, utilities, two cars, daycare, groceries, gasoline, cell phones, and cable TV (no movie channels) round out our monthly expenses. We also have someone who cuts our grass, cleans our house, and watches our new baby.... e have less than a few hundred dollars per month of discretionary income. We occasionally eat out but with a baby sitter, these nights take a toll on our budget. Life in America is wonderful, but expensive. If our taxes rise significantly... the (legal) immigrant from Mexico who owns the lawn service we employ will suffer, as will the (legal) immigrant from Poland who cleans our house a few times a month. We can cancel our cell phones and some cable channels, as well as take our daughter from her art class at the community art center...

Now it is time for a reality check on this "most working Americans." The median household income in the United States today is $50,000. Half of all households make more than this. Half of all households make less. The big expenses in the Henderson family budget--their $60,000 a year in contributions to tax-favored retirement savings vehicles, their $25,000 a year savings building home equity, their $55,000 for housing, their $60,000 in private school costs, even their $10,000 a year for new cars--are simply out of reach for the overwhelming majority of Americans. Half of all households make less than $50,000 a year--the Hendersons make nine times that. 90% of households make less than $100,000 a year--the Henderson's make 4.5 times that. The Henderson's are solidly in the top 1% of American households, in the select 1% group that receives more than $350,000 a year.

By any standard, they are really rich.


(more amazing goodness at link)
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Please read as it will help illustrate just who the tea-party anti-government people really are. They are the top 1%, used to not having to contribute much, angry that they are being asked to contribute more to the society that has cradled them.

[jsmithsen]

1. Fear of Falling

Two book titles sum of the obsessions of the nearly rich:

Winner-Take-All Society

Fear of Falling

http://www.amazon.com/Winner-Take-All-Society-Much-More-Than/dp/0140259953

http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Falling-Inner-Middle-Class/dp/0060973331/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285020939&sr=1-1

There are a lot of people out there who could use a shot of tequila, a Corona, and a cheeseburger every once and awhile.