Gretchen's Take: Tax hikes haven't leveled playing field
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tuesday night the president will ask certain Americans to pay more in taxes.
We've heard that message before. Who could forget -- Americans need to pay their "fair share." Lets face it. The message works. Who wouldn't agree with that? Of course Americans should pay their fair share.
The problem is -- Americans -- at least successful ones --- already are paying their fair share and have been for some time. Take a look at the numbers: The top 1 percent pays 38 percent off all federal income taxes. The top 5, 59 percent ... The top 10? Seventy percent percent of all federal income taxes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Juxtapose that to this: Even with the tax hikes under President Obama over the last six years, it hasn't worked to level the playing field.
The number of people on food stamps although slightly lowered last year has almost doubled under this president.
Mr. Obama wants to raise an additional $320 billion in taxes over the next 10 years. But to what end? I think most Americans in the top tax brackets wouldn't mind paying more -- if they actually thought their money was making a difference. But so far, the numbers just don't add up.