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It should be established Republican doctrine that everyone is paying too much in taxes from top to bottom and the only way we can truly reverse our nation’s fiscal trajectory of doom is to dramatically cut spending. This has been true for decades and in our current situation of massive inflation, it doesn’t make sense to say the middle class needs to “pay their fair share.”
Unfortunately, the powerful GOP Establishment in Ohio is pushing forward a U.S. Senate candidate who says just that. He’s everything bad about Mitt Romney, which is pretty much everything about Mitt Romney.
Mike Gibbons wants to be the next Mitt Romney. Watch:
Ohio GOP Senate candidate Mike Gibbons on a Crain’s Cleveland Business podcast:
“The top 20% of earners in the U.S. pay 82% of federal income tax — and, you do the math, and 45% to 50% don’t pay any income tax… The middle class is not really paying any kind of a fair share.” pic.twitter.com/VUYzPTlqmX
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 8, 2022
Let’s ignore the notion that Gibbons comes across as extraordinarily unlikeable. The words themselves are atrocious and will not appeal to either the tax-the-rich-to-oblivion left or the tax-cutters on the right. It’s unclear who Gibbons is even appealing to in this discussion. Perhaps he’s going for those in poverty by saying everyone who pays taxes should pay more taxes, other than the ultra wealthy.
Regardless of his reasoning for torching his campaign, it’s a bad look for the GOP Establishment. As Bonchie at RedState noted:
How, in this day and age, can a Republican candidate still be unaware of what year it is? Right now, the middle class is getting absolutely toasted by inflation, and a leading GOP candidate for the Senate thinks now is a good time to riff on the unfairness of our tax system to millionaires and billionaires?
And look, I get that he’s kind of half-right in a technical sense. It is true that the highest wage earners pay most of the federal income taxes. Yet, the middle-class pays FICA taxes. They pay sales taxes. They pay state income tax. They pay the gas tax every time they fill up. Insinuating they aren’t “paying their fair share” is misleading at best.
Secondly, the statistics say that the middle-class pay, on average, around 8 percent of their earnings in federal income tax. That is not zero, as Gibbons insinuates. Heck, I’m middle-class and I’m about to write a $15,000 check to the IRS — despite paying a hefty amount into the system every month (i.e. my overall bill is even bigger than that). I’m sure most people reading this are middle-class and owe money, or that their refund doesn’t fully offset what they paid to the government throughout the year.
Thirdly, Gibbons’ statement makes does not account for the differences in capital gains tax rates and income tax rates. Most of the richest Americans make most of their money through investments after a certain threshold. That means that when you consider everything the wealthy bring in compared to their effective tax rate, the rich pay about the same percentage of their money into the system as the middle class. Now, I’m not suggesting the capital gains tax should be increased, and I understand how important spurning investment is to the economy. But I am suggesting the assertion that the rich are deeply abused when it comes to the overall tax structure just isn’t true.
Lastly, putting all the technical arguments aside, going after the middle-class in the current environment is just politically inept. Gibbons himself is, of course, a very wealthy man, which explains why he’d be stupid enough to even get into this topic. Still, any GOP candidate needs to have enough of a filter to not set themselves on fire. Even if Gibbons, because of early voting, ends up winning the primary, he’s now made himself a liability not just in his own race, but to other Republican candidates around the country.
The worst part about all this is that with early voting starting in Ohio, polls show Gibbons leading. I have not endorsed a candidate for the primary because I’ve only spoken to one of them so far, but I can say with a certainty that I won’t be endorsing Gibbons.
Republicans in Ohio need to recognize that Mike Gibbons can only marginally wear the “GOP” badge because he’s not a full-blown leftist. We need fewer people like Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, not more.
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by Michael Snyder
(End of the American Dream)—What is causing the extremely loud “booms” that people are hearing in the sky all over the world? We are being told that “skyquakes” are responsible, but scientists have no idea why these “skyquakes” are occurring. In some cases, the “skyquakes” cause such powerful shaking that…
The Biggest Sale on Long-Term Storage Beef EVER
by Sponsored Post
Let’s cut to the chase. Prepper All-Naturals is offering an unprecedented 40% off for it’s “Beef Steak” survival bags with promo code “steak40”. With a 25-year shelf life and a single ingredient (beef, of course), our most popular product is available for a very limited time with the biggest discount…
Seattle Is Ordered to Stop Blocking Illegal Alien Deportations in the Most Hilarious Court Decision Ever
by PJ Media
A federal court has just pooped in the oatmeal of the West Coast, Messed Coast™governors and local election officials suffering from acute cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome who think they can stop illegal alien deportations. And after this hilarious and thorough legal takedown from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,…
Illegal Alien Terror Suspect Found Dead in Cook County Jail Cell
by Slay News
An Islamic illegal alien has been found dead in his jail cell after being arrested on terrorism charges. According to CWBChicago, 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi was found dead at the Cook County jail in Illinois on Saturday. Abdallahi was arrested on felony terrorism and hate crime charges in October. He…
Trump’s Wild Bunch Is Ready for Action
by Frank Miele
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by Just The News
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday said that it has issued two flight restrictions on the area surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, following questionable drone activity. The drone sightings were first reported on Nov. 18, but have continued into this week, according to Fox…
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by Trending Politics
A former Houston-based FBI agent has been convicted of stealing valuables and cash while conducting searches. In one instance, the agent stole cash and silver bars from a non-violent January 6 defendant’s home. Nicholas Anthony Williams, 36, was indicted on January 31 in the Southern District of Texas. Williams, who…
Democrats, Media Elite Urge Biden to Pardon Trump’s Alleged ‘Enemies List’
by Breitbart
President Joe Biden should issue preemptive pardons to his political allies and those deemed to be on President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged “enemies list,” Democrats and their media allies believe. Delivering a preemptive pardon indicates an admission of guilt, although Democrats claim a preemptive pardon would only be intended to block…
Fani Willis Forced to Release All Communications With Jack Smith, J6 Committee
by Trending Politics
The Fulton County Superior Court has ruled against District Attorney Fani Willis, ordering her to disclose communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6 Committee. The decision, announced on Tuesday, follows a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, which accused Willis of violating Georgia’s…
Lindsey Graham Is the Warmongering NeoCon Leading the Charge to Upend Pete Hegseth
by JD Rucker
Pete Hegseth represents a shift away from the wokeness that has infected the United States military. This is possibly the biggest reason President-Elect Donald Trump tapped him to be the next Secretary of Defense and the vast majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill can support this, at least for the…
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by Nicole Silverio, DCNF
(DCNF)—Fox Business host Charles Payne called out the alleged “huge double standard” of President Joe Biden’s family Tuesday by revealing that his brother, who struggles with a crack addiction, is currently serving a jail sentence. Payne said his brother, who is getting out of jail on Friday, is likely one…
Zelensky Admits Ukraine Can’t Retake All Its Land: ‘We Must Seek Diplomatic Means’
by Breitbart
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded in an interview on Tuesday that Ukraine does not have “enough forces” to restore sovereignty over Russian-occupied Crimea and “must seek diplomatic means” to end the Russian invasion and regain its land. The state-run Ukrinform outlet reported that Zelensky described Crimea – which Russia colonized…
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by Olivia Cook
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by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
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Mysterious ‘Car-Sized Drones’ Over New Jersey Prompt FBI Investigation
by Zero Hedge
Several weeks of mysterious drone swarms over the skies of one New Jersey county near the military research and manufacturing facility Picatinny Arsenal have sparked concerns among residents and prompted an FBI investigation. “It’s kind of unsettling,” Mike Walsh, a Morris County resident who has spotted the drones on numerous…
UNESCO’s New Mission: Train Influencers About Combatting Online “Misinformation”
by Reclaim the Net
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is now incorporating teaching influencers how to “fact check” into its activities. UNESCO claims that influencers have become “primary sources of news and cultural information” around the world – which prompted it to carry out a survey into how these online personalities…
