On a regular basis I will hear someone say that the rich have to pay their fair share, even President Obama chimes in saying things like: “There is nothing wrong with having those who can, pay a little more.”

But what Mr. Barack Obama doesn’t tell you is that the top 10 percent of income earners pay nearly 50 percent of all taxes collected, and the top 50 percent that’s half of the population pay close to 90 percent of all the taxes collected, while the bottom 50 percent pay only around 10 percent of the total taxes collected. This is according to the data provided by the IRS.

Another fact that is overlooked by those in media is that if we took everything away from everyone who made more than $1 million per year, it would still not be enough to pay off the debt. We need to cut spending and in painful ways in order to fix our broken government and our broken economy.

The fact is whenever taxing the rich has been tried, revenue goes down. Just ask those who remember John F. Kennedy, he cut taxes and revenue increased. You don’t have to look far to find examples like the yacht tax, where revenue went down quickly and the people who made the yachts paid the ultimate price by losing their jobs.

Businesses do not look to Minnesota to move to or grow in because of our high taxes; Sioux Falls ends up getting the jobs that could have came to Albert Lea. Like the federal government, Minnesota refuses to look at cutting spending before raising taxes.

I am not a rich man; it could even be said I am a poor man. I work two jobs and do not get government handouts even though I would qualify for many. I would like to be rich someday myself, so I don’t see it as right to “punish” people for being successful.

I for one will be voting for Mitt Romney, Kurt Bills and Allen Quist because we need to restore common sense in Washington!

 

Brian Ducklinsky

Albert Lea