Working families in Pennsylvania pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than their wealthiest counterparts, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy.
Other highlights (or low lights) from the study:
* Pennsylvania families earning less than $19,000 - the poorest fifth of Pennsylvania taxpayers - pay 11.3% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.
* Middle-income Pennsylvania taxpayers - those earning between $35,000 and $56,000 - pay 9.6% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.
* The richest Pennsylvania taxpayers - with average incomes of $1,369,600 - pay only 5% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.
* After accounting for federal deduction offsets, the discrepancy is even starker: the poorest fifth pay 11.2% of their income in state and local taxes, middle-income families pay 9.1%, and the richest Pennsylvanians pay 3.9%.
* Washington, Florida, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Alabama were named as the 10 Most Regressive Tax States. Pennsylvania ranked ninth.
The review the entire report, "Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States," follow the link below:
A great video posted at YouTube by the College Republicans at the University of Connecticut showing that world leaders routinely greet the Japanese emperor without bowing before him, something Barack Obama indistinctly does to show U.S. weakness.
Study: Every GM Vehicle Sold Costs Taxpayers $12,200
The American taxpayer has put up $12,200 for every General Motors vehicle sold through the beginning of 2011, and $7,600 for every Chrysler vehicle sold as well, according to a new report issued by the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union.
Did Rep. David Kessler read the budget before voting on it?
State budget cuts will force the closing of the Daniel Boone Homestead in Berks County.
The most interesting part of this story is the fact that state Rep. David Kessler, a Democrat who represents part of Exeter, where the Boone Homestead is located, admits he didn't bother to read the state budget that he voted "yes" on. He simply did what Ed Rendell and the Harrisburg party bosses told him to do.
That budget has cut off funding for one of the area's best-run historical attractions.
When asked a very direct question about why he supported a budget that cut off funding to his own district, Kessler did his best to weasel out of answering it:
He said he could not answer whether he would have voted for the budget if he knew it meant the closing of the homestead.
"I need to dig in to what the numbers are and find out what we need to keep it open at some level," Kessler said.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Kessler. And voters in the 130th House District should remember how well Mr. Kessler represents their best interests when they go to the polls in May 2010.
The Fringe Media (formerly known as the Mainstream Media) has launched an all-out assault on Sarah Palin as she begins her book tour to promote "Going Rogue."
The book goes on sale Tuesday, but liberal book critics and left-wing pundits have already savaged the book, which is destined to become one of the biggest sellers of the year.
Despite the constant negative commentary about Palin in the Fringe Media, a new poll says most Americans share Palin's values.
From Rasmussen Reports:
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Republican voters say former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shares the values of most GOP voters throughout the nation.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 21% of Republican voters disagree and think the 2008 vice presidential candidate does not share their values. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.
By contrast, 74% of Republicans say their party’s representatives in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters nationwide over the past several years. Only 18% of Republican voters believe their elected officials have done a good job representing the base.
The findings in these two surveys highlight the political debate within the Republican Party. Party leaders worry that Palin is pushing the GOP too far to the right to win general elections by aligning herself with Tea Party voters frustrated with both parties in Washington and the big government policies they have produced.
Still, just 18% of Republicans - and 26% of voters nationwide - see Palin as a divisive force within the GOP. A plurality believes Palin is representative of a new direction for the Republican Party. That view is held by 57% of Republicans and 41% of all voters. A plurality of Democrats aren't sure what to think of Palin's role within the opposing party.
Government Watchdogs call for Constitutional Convention in PA
The latest corruption scandal to hit Harrisburg has prompted calls for a Constitutional Convention to reform state government. The problem is that a convention needs approval by the Legislature. The people of Pennsylvania can clean up the mess in 2010 when all 203 members of the state House and 25 members of the state Senate are up for reelection.
Independent reviews of Obama's claims of job created by the stimulus bill show that the government is making up numbers. As Rep. Joe Wilson so aptly said it, "You lie!"
From Watchdog.org:
Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist.
According to data retrieved from recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The Web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.
It's clear you can't trust anything coming from the Obama Ministry of Propaganda or the state-run media that should be reporting on the most corrupt and deceptive administration ever.
Newsweek Photo of Sarah Palin Shows Media Bias, Sexism
Nice legs. Oh wait, that's Sarah Palin. I thought it was Sports Illustrated, but turns out it's the new issue of Newsweek. When was the last time a "news" magazine put Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi in shorts on the cover?
David Brody, CBN News White House correspondent, says on his blog that this an another example of liberal media bias, not to mention sexist coverage of the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee.
Brody writes:
This cover has got to be a new low right? They don't use a photo of Palin on the campaign trail. No instead they take the sexy Runners World photo. Yes she posed for it but don't tell me they didn't purposely use that photo to make a point? I predict this cover will become a bigger story over the next 24-48 hours and let's face it. This isn't JUST about media bias. This cover should be insulting to women politicians. Where's the sexy photo of Mitt Romney? Why not a picture of Tim Pawlenty with an unbuttoned shirt relaxing on a couch in the Twin Cities?
New Report: More Than 49 Million Americans at Risk of Hunger
What exactly is Barack Obama doing about the problem of hunger in America? Oh, wait. He's busy fixing global warning and lobbying for the Olympics and releasing terrorists.
Where's the liberal media outcry over the lack of attention Obama is paying to the problem of hunger?
Where does Arlen Specter stand on the issues? It depends on which day of the week it is. Specter is pushing John Kerry aside as king of the flip-flop.
Specter sat down a few days ago for and extensive interview with The Mercury.
On health care, Specter said "I will only vote on a health care bill that does not add to the deficit."
Does that mean he will defy Barack Obama and Harry Reid?
I also enjoyed this quote from Specter about the fact that it took him a couple of decades to figure out he wans't a true Republican: "I found I was voting more often with the Democrats than the Republicans during my tenure."
Check out what he has to say on a variety of issues ... before he changes his mind again.
Read the story at the newspaper's Web site, where you can also view videos of Specter at the offices of The Mercury.
Tony Phyrillas is the city editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. Phyrillas has won several national and state awards for his columns. Phyrillas has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in The New York Times and is a frequent commentator on radio and television programs. He co-hosts "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas & Mike Pincus" Thursdays at 5 p.m. on WPAZ 1370 AM.
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Working families in Pennsylvania pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than their wealthiest counterparts, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy.
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