Writing in Time magazine, our pal Bill Moyers (search) contends that any tax cut for the wealthy takes money away from the poor. As Moyers puts it, President Bush is redistributing income to the rich.
Now think about it. Moyers believes that the money wealthy Americans already have really isn't theirs. He thinks the government has a perfect right to seize wages, property and dividends and give those assets to other Americans who don't have as much. Now that's classic socialism. And I can't understand why Bill Moyers just doesn't move to Havana. The weather's nice, the people are great, and Fidel has the property and well seizing down thing pat.
The Democratic Party is also going to run on the need to heavily tax the wealthy to pay for entitlements. Senator Joseph Lieberman (search), whom we respect, wants to raise the top federal income tax levied to nearly 40 percent and tack on an additional 5 percent for Americans who earn more than $250,000 a year.
Now only two percent of us earn that kind of money. And if elected president, Senator Lieberman will get to know us very well. Talking Points crunched some numbers and here are the no spin facts.
Under Lieberman's tax plan, an American living in New York City and earning $250,000 would pay 58 percent of his income in combined taxes. That means more than $145,000 be taken out of his or her paycheck.
Of course, that doesn't count property taxes, sales taxes, energy taxes, tolls and all the rest. So $250,000 suddenly will not afford you a decent lifestyle in New York City.
In Boston, you pay 54 percent of your income to taxes under Lieberman. In L.A., 55 percent.
Now I think taking that kind of money away from an American is flat-out immoral. It's not the way this country was set up. In fact, the feds didn't even have an income tax until 1913.
But we're now living in a time where many Americans believe that high earnings are constitutionally mandated to provide for those who don't have. That income redistribution is the government's obligation. That's what they believe.
Fighting the war on terror, fighting the culture war on taxation versus entitlements are what next year's presidential election will come down to. Those are the issues.
Now I applaud Joseph Lieberman for spelling out exactly what his tax vision is. And that way, we get to agree or disagree. There's no question the USA is moving toward a secular, quasi-socialistic society based on the western European model. How far we go with that depends on your vote next year.
And that's The Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
A new Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll asked Americans about their beliefs. And here are the results. Ninety-two percent of us say we believe in God; 85 percent, heaven; 74 percent, hell; 71 percent, devil; 34 percent believe in ghosts; 24 percent believe in witches.
Ridiculous? Only if you live in Salem.
--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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