You know. That magic '95%' which THE ONE says he will cut taxes.
So what taxes, exactly?
Philip Klein, of the American Spectator, first asks Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, and then David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, for specifics on this plan.
Apparently, both Plouffe & Axelrod are graduates of The Sammy Davis Jr. School of Tap Dancing.
"What rates would actually go down"? I asked.
"Middle class people are going to see, systemically, their taxes reduced, and small businesses," Plouffe responded.
"But what rate would go down for lower-income Americans?" I persisted, seeking more information.
"We'll have to get you the exact details on that," Obama's campaign manager told me.
I followed up, recapping the claim he had just made moments ago: "Well, you said that there's going to be a tax cut on 95 percent, so what rate would go down?"
He replied, "I'll have to get you the exact rate differential."
Given that he wasn't clear on the actual rate changes involved, I asked, "but which type of tax would go down?"
He insisted that under Obama's plan, income taxes would be lower, as well as capital gains taxes on start up businesses and small entrepreneurs (though the capital gains tax would otherwise increase).
The only problem is that 40% of wage earners in this country don't pay one single dime in income taxes.
Perhaps we should simply go back to ridiculing Sarah about what newspapers she reads while looking at Russia from her porch. At least she looks good in confusion.
Surely David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, could make the mud more clear.
"I queried as to whether that money would come in the form of a check, or a lower rate. "You would see a reduction in your taxes, in the taxes that you pay," he insisted. After further questioning, he added, "The mechanism for it has to do with deferring part of the withholding taxes, but you should talk to our budget folks on that."
Generalizations. Defer. Talk to our budget folks. Nope. Just as murky.
What the Obama campaign has done is what politicians have done for years. Obscure terms. For instance: a spending increase not as big as anticipated = a spending 'cut' in the la-la land of D.C.
Klein concludes it all this way:
"In fairness, politicians long ago began to use the tax code as a tool for crafting social policy rather than merely as a way to raise revenue. Republicans and Democrats alike have abused terms such as "tax credit" and "tax rebate" to make their policy goals more palatable. But Obama is getting away with defining tax cuts so broadly, that future candidates will simply claim any form of increased government spending as a tax cut. Under Obama's logic, higher food stamp allowances and expanded state funding of the arts could be dubbed "food tax credit" and "arts tax credit" respectively, and also qualify.
If Barack Obama can effectively claim that his plan cuts taxes on 95 percent of Americans, then the term "tax cut" has no meaning.
Sounds less like a tap dance and more like a shuffle. Money here. Money there. Sleight of hand. Whalla! Redistribution.
Socialism satisfied.
