Bruce Bartlett argues that the views of the "Tea Party crowd" are based upon false beliefs
about the burden of federal taxes:
The Misinformed Tea Party Movement, by Bruce Bartlett, Commentary, Forbes:
On March 16 the Tea Party crowd showed up for yet another demonstration on
Capitol Hill... Curious about the factual knowledge these people have regarding
the issues they are protesting,... David Frum enlisted some interns to interview
as many Tea Partyers as possible on a couple of basic questions. ... (Survey
results are here.)
The first question that was asked concerned the size of government. Tea Partyers
were asked how much the federal government gets in taxes as a percentage of the
gross domestic product. According to Congressional Budget Office data,
acceptable answers would be 6.4%, which is the percentage for federal income
taxes; 12.7%, which would be for both income taxes and Social Security payroll
taxes; or 14.8%, which would represent all federal taxes as a share of GDP in
2009. ...
Tuesday's Tea Party crowd, however, thought that federal taxes were almost three
times as high as they actually are. The average response was 42% of GDP and the
median 40%. ...
To follow up, Tea Partyers were asked how much they think a typical family
making $50,000 per year pays in federal income taxes. The average response was
$12,710, the median $10,000. In percentage terms this means a tax burden of
between 20% and 25% of income. ...
According to calculations by the Joint Committee on Taxation, a congressional
committee, tax filers with adjusted gross incomes between $40,000 and $50,000
have an average federal income tax burden of just 1.7%. ...
Even though the Tea Partyers were specifically asked about federal income taxes,
it's possible that they were thinking about other federal taxes as well, such as
payroll and excise taxes. According to the JCT, when all federal taxes are
included, those earning between $40,000 and $50,000 have an average tax rate of
12.3%...
In short, no matter how one slices the data, the Tea Party crowd appears to
believe that federal taxes are very considerably higher than they actually
are...
Tea Partyers also seem to have a very distorted view of the direction of federal
taxes. They were asked whether they are higher, lower or the same as when Barack
Obama was inaugurated last year. More than two-thirds thought that taxes are
higher today, and only 4% thought they were lower; the rest said they are the
same.
As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure
since Obama became president. ... In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package
involved tax cuts. ... The Tax Policy Center ... estimates that close to 90% of
all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000
income range. ... No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes
increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.
It's hard to explain this divergence between perception and reality. Perhaps ...
they just assume that because a Democrat is president that taxes must have gone
up, because that's what Republicans say that Democrats always do. ...
Probably the simplest motivation the Tea Partyers have is the one that Howard
Beale (actor Peter Finch) gave in the 1976 movie Network. "I'm mad as hell, and
I'm not gonna take it any more!" he said to cheering crowds. In other words, tea
parties just represent unfocused anger at current economic conditions. Those who
feel this way have latched on to the Tea Party movement not because they really
believe that their taxes are too high, that taxes are rising or that taxes are
at the root of our economic problem. Rather,... it's the only game in town; the
only organized force with at least the potential of bringing about change that
might make things better.
In this sense, the tea parties are simply the latest manifestation of
populism... Unfortunately for the Tea Party populists, there is no evidence in
American history that populism has ever had a meaningful effect on policy. ...
One reason is that the major parties co-opted populist issues and leaders, which
bought time until the populist impulse burned itself out like a brush fire.
Whatever the future of the Tea Party movement in American politics, it's a bad
idea for so many participants to operate on the basis of false notions about the
burden of federal taxation. It only takes a little bit of time to look at one's
tax return ... and compare it with what was paid last year and the year before.
People may then discover that their anger is misplaced and channel it into areas
where it is more likely to bring about positive change.
