How long has the line “Buffet’s secretary paid taxes at higher rate than he did” been around? It seems like a while. Since President Obama has gotten on his class warfare kick, it’s only increased and even found its way into his State of the Union Address. He used her tax rate story to show injustice and the innate inequality within our American system.
Well, newer news is likely to put a few things into perspective. This “forgotten” woman probably makes somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000, but certainly at least $200,000.
The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between$100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate oftwelve percent. This is below Buffet’s rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand.
We must wait for further details to learn how much more than $200,000 she earns. The tax tables tell us about average ranges. For all we know she earns closer to a half million each year, but that is pure speculation (Forbes).
It’s not important how much she (Debbie Bosanke is her name) makes. If she clears that much or more, good for her but the president should stop with the sanctimony drivel about inequality and injustice. (For more on that, you must read A Conservative Teacher’s post notes on the SOTU).
Commentary
- JustOneMinute: I Hate The Smell Of BS In The Evening…
- Weasel Zippers: Obama Holds Up Warren Buffet’s Secretary As Example of Economic Injustice
- Jammie Wearing Fools: Irony: Buffett Secretary and Obama Stage Prop Could Be Making Up to $500K a Year
As with all things the democrats depend on the ignorance of the American people, sad but true.
Thanks for the nod.