Want to reduce your taxes? Get rich

Duped. That’s the only thing I can say here. Republicans in general have been falling in line like lambs to the slaughter - yelling and screaming that the Bush “tax cuts” must be made permanent. See, Republicans hate tax increases…and they are going to decry any increases…even if it means righting a wrong - everytime I hear one of those young Republicans scream about tax cuts I cringe, because this country is in deep financial do-do and 1/2 the country is too busy carrying water for those who at the end of the day couldn’t give a rats ass about the Republican Party - it always has been and always will be about them. Greed will be the downfall of the Republican Party - greed of the 1% - championed by the 99%.

When it comes to cutting taxes for the wealthy, President Bush can truly say,” Mission accomplished. “The richest 1 percent of Americans received about $ 491 billion in tax breaks between 2001 and 2008. That’s nearly the same amount as U. S. debt held by China - $ 493 billion - in the form of Treasury securities.

Do you want our government to mortgage more of our nation’s future to finance tax breaks for the rich ? Tax cuts have already helped the wealthiest 1 percent - whose annual incomes average about $ 1. 5 million - increase their share of the nation’s income to a higher level than any year since 1928 on the eve of the Great Depression.

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Tax cuts for the wealthy fuel rising inequality along with rising debt and neglect. Taxpayers with annual incomes above $ 1 million in fiscal year 2012, for example, would increase their after-tax income by 7. 5 percent thanks to an average tax cut of $ 162, 000. The poorest 20 percent of taxpayers would get an average tax cut of $ 45 - and decaying public services.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama promise to end the tax breaks for the wealthy. Republican candidate John McCain wants to extend them. What do you want ?

Holly Sklar is co-author of “Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies That Work for All of Us.”