Time Magazine Annoyed at Limited Reach of Class Warfare on Views on Tax Cuts

Ken Shepherd
September 16th, 2010 3:37 PM
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"Good News, Rich People: Poor People Don't Want to Raise Your Taxes"

That's the snarky headline for Kayla Webley's 5-paragraph NewsFeed item filed earlier today at Time.com.

"Nearly half of the lowest earners among us want the rich to stay rich," complained Webley, adding:

As Congress debates whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows the country is as divided as Washington when it comes to increasing taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

According to the poll, 54% support raising taxes on the rich, while 44% are opposed. Meaning that while the tax increases proposed by President Obama would affect only a minority of Americans (Obama says just 2%), nearly half of Americans — despite being completely unaffected by the proposed increases — don't want to see anyone's taxes increased.

To accompany the story, Time editors included a stock photo by Getty Images of a man wearing a gray blazer with crisp $20 bills tucked in his breast pocket (see screencap above, click image for full size).

In her rush to complain about nearly half of "poor" Americans favoring tax cuts for the "rich," Webley neglected to pass along an interesting quote from a Democrat featured in the AP story to which she linked.

Noted reporter Alan Fram:

While about three-fourths of Democrats favor raising taxes on the rich, about half of independents and nearly two-thirds of Republicans oppose the idea. Support for cutting everyone's taxes exceeds four in 10 people in every region of the U.S. except the Midwest, where one-third back the proposal. Even among people earning under $50,000 a year — mainstays of the Democratic Party — 43 percent want to continue the tax cuts for all.

"You shouldn't be penalized for making a good living," said Charles Ricotta, 55, a Democrat from Dunkirk, N.Y. "If you feel the government is cutting your throat, you might feel hesitant about hiring people."

Watching the government soak the rich may temporarily make you feel good by proxy, but in the long run it kills economic growth and the jobs that come from that.  That's the sentiment some 43% of "poor" taxpayers seem to subscribe to.

It's a shame that Time magazine doesn't, or worse, refuses to, get it.