December 16, 2011--Chutzpah
By now the Democrats may have caved in to the Republicans insistence that a surtax on income over a million dollars a year is off the table as part of a deal to extend unemployment insurance and continue the suspension of part of the payroll tax.
We've seen this kind of capitulation before so that is not news.
What is news, however, in an attempt by the GOP to show the gullible public that they are not opposed to all taxes on million-dollar earners (their true political base). Thus, there is some talk on Capital Hill about taxing the unemployment benefits received by those who, before losing their jobs, made more than $1.0 million a year.
Yes, there are some in this category--for example, folks who worked for an investment bank, made a million or more a year, but then found themselves laid of and thus were entitled to and collected unemployment insurance. A maximum of $485 a week.
This may feel like small potatoes to these otherwise wealthy individuals, but collect the money they did. In fact between 2005 and 2009 millionaires collected a total of over $74 million in unemployment benefits.
The Republicans who want to appear to be flexible in regard to taxing the top tenth of one percent have their eyes on this $74 million. They are talking about assessing a 100 percent tax on people making over $10 million a year before being laid off and phasing in a 75 percent tax on those earning "only" between $1.0 and $10.0 million. (See linked New York Times article.)
If you are wondering how many of our fellow citizens would be affected by this tax, in 2009 there were 2,363 who earned more than a million but less than $10 million and 18 people with an adjusted income of more than $10 million.
Some even had the chutzpah to apply for and then use food stamps. So far GOP congressmen haven't said what they would do about recovering the cost of that.
Speaking of chutzpah, are you as amazed as I that nearly 2,400 who earned more than a million the year before they lost their jobs place applied for unemployment insurance? Call me naive.
We've seen this kind of capitulation before so that is not news.
What is news, however, in an attempt by the GOP to show the gullible public that they are not opposed to all taxes on million-dollar earners (their true political base). Thus, there is some talk on Capital Hill about taxing the unemployment benefits received by those who, before losing their jobs, made more than $1.0 million a year.
Yes, there are some in this category--for example, folks who worked for an investment bank, made a million or more a year, but then found themselves laid of and thus were entitled to and collected unemployment insurance. A maximum of $485 a week.
This may feel like small potatoes to these otherwise wealthy individuals, but collect the money they did. In fact between 2005 and 2009 millionaires collected a total of over $74 million in unemployment benefits.
The Republicans who want to appear to be flexible in regard to taxing the top tenth of one percent have their eyes on this $74 million. They are talking about assessing a 100 percent tax on people making over $10 million a year before being laid off and phasing in a 75 percent tax on those earning "only" between $1.0 and $10.0 million. (See linked New York Times article.)
If you are wondering how many of our fellow citizens would be affected by this tax, in 2009 there were 2,363 who earned more than a million but less than $10 million and 18 people with an adjusted income of more than $10 million.
Some even had the chutzpah to apply for and then use food stamps. So far GOP congressmen haven't said what they would do about recovering the cost of that.
Speaking of chutzpah, are you as amazed as I that nearly 2,400 who earned more than a million the year before they lost their jobs place applied for unemployment insurance? Call me naive.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:01 AM
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