Obama the Tax Hypocrite

The President Barack Obama has been proven a hypocrite.

He is unwilling to practice for himself what he wishes to demand of others. And in so doing, he is exposing for all to see the lack of importance his own agenda is--even to himself.

Let me lay it out for you.

In the 2008 campaign, then Senator Obama repeatedly scoffed at the tax rates for the majority of the small business class of our nation. He repeatedly chided those in the tax bracket that housed the biggest number of small business owners, that they would need to do "more," that everybody should, "do their share."

He also promised repeatedly that if elected President he would increase those tax rates, that he would force those in that bracket to do more, and that it would be the true measure of patriotism to do so.

He spoke in glowing terms of returning the tax rates in his administration to the levels of the Clinton era, and challenging those earning above $250,000 a year to embrace their dutiful responsibilities to pay 39% federal income taxes (not the then 35% under President Bush.)

Last week in his speech to the American people, where he released yet his fourth attempt at trying to define how he would reduce the deficit, he re-engaged these ideas of those in the top earnings bracket paying what he refers to constantly as "their fair share." He insisted that he personally didn't need "yet another tax cut." And he scoffed at the idea that any deficit reduction plan would include such things.

To hear him rail against those who earn big paychecks one could only come away convinced that this was a President who was as committed to this cause of taxation to reduce the deficit as any history had ever seen.

And then we saw his tax return.

For 2010 President Obama earned well more than $250,000 in total family income for the year. In fact the Obama household--after every loophole, donation, and tax exempt charitable donation had been subtracted--recorded a revenue earnings of $1,700,000 and change. To repeat, this wasn't gross earnings, this was adjusted earnings. This is what he was responsible to pay taxes on.

For those of you who could not do the immediate math that's $1,450,000 above the $250,000 that he wished to tax at the maximum level under the Clinton era--39%.

From the reports concerning the President's tax returns he paid roughly $454,000 and change in federal taxes. Sounds like a lot doesn't it?

It is... to most people. But on taxable income of $1,700,000 it only works out to be a tad more than 26%. Woah! Wait a minute... The President--who had a taxable income of $1,700,000--paid what?

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