Who Will Benefit From Bush’s Tax Cuts?
Bravo for the excellent April 12 articles by Allan Sloan (“Why Your Tax Cut Doesn’t Add Up” and “6 Fixes for the Tax Mess”). It is refreshing to read a clear, unbiased, analytical approach to the problems with the present tax system, with realistic, practical suggestions about how to fix the tax mess. I differ with Sloan on only one point. He asks, “Is it arrogant for an unelected media-elite guy like me to propose policy changes? Yep.” But my answer to that question is a resounding “Nope!” I much prefer an analysis presented by someone like Sloan, who doesn’t have an ax to grind, over the politically motivated words of an elected official from either side of the aisle. Bob Steiner, CPA Hercules, Calif.
Why not emphasize the graphic that shows that couples with a $40,000 gross income, who are married and have two children, got a 23.9 percent tax cut? In your article, some important facts do not show up. For one, it is the spending of the wealthy on investments that allows for job creation. The poor create no jobs to be taxed. You say that the reason the federal budget is under such pressure is that corporations are picking up less of the tab. No mention is made of the people who pay no federal income taxes and thus are also “picking up a lot less of the tab.” When are we going to get a better rate system where everyone pays his or her share, big or small? James Turner Chatsworth, Ga.
Allan Sloan’s argument against special lower rates for dividends seems to be buttressed by the recent revelation that 60 percent of American companies don’t pay income taxes. For their dividends there is no double taxation. Murray Milkman Hollywood, Fla.
As I calculated my taxes this year, I faced the stark reality of how far my personal economic situation has fallen. The last time I stayed ahead of the game was the last year of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Then I was able to support my family, pay our insurance premiums, add to a retirement account and save money. I was even able to buy a home. Every year since Bush took office I have found my expenses going up and my earnings going down. My family is struggling now. Inflation seems to drive prices higher and higher, yet we aren’t earning any more. Our federal income tax went down slightly, but our other taxes have gone up far more. Who started the myth that Republicans are good for the economy? I long for the days of President Clinton. David Michaelson Brooklyn, N.Y.
Thank you, Allan Sloan, for doing the math and analyzing where the Bush tax cut is really going. As a single woman earning twice the average income per capita, I get a tax cut that amounts to a few extra coffees each month. Frankly, I would prefer that the government take that amount and use it to do some of the things I can’t do as an individual, such as build and repair highways, fight terror or fund a scholarship for a needy student. It is fascinating to me that none of the families profiled in your article felt they had benefited from the tax cut. Even the couple who earn $1 million and pay the alternative minimum tax didn’t particularly feel they had benefited. I hope that bringing this information to light will motivate our legislators to reform our tax code in the meaningful ways Sloan suggests. Rebecca Williams San Diego, Calif.
As participants in the article about the effects of the tax cut on our income, we feel it is necessary to clarify the two most important points that we made to the interviewer and that were not mentioned. First, we did not ask for a tax cut. But if taxes are going to be reduced, then all taxpayers should receive the benefit. Second and most important is the tremendous benefit of the accelerated depreciation allowance for new business investment, 50 percent of which can now be deducted the first year instead of over 39 years. Obviously, this provides incentive for us to invest in new restaurants. At this time we are in negotiations to open a new one, which will create new jobs and, in turn, provide stimulus for the economy. Aaron and Shirley Ferer Salt Lake City, Utah
Contrary to the assertion of the cover headline, we found our tax cut to be substantially larger than we had expected. Compared with the taxes we paid in years 2000 and 2001, we received a 22 percent decrease in our income tax for 2003. We are a retired couple with two Social Security payments and one pension, plus some interest, dividends and capital gains. Yesterday I learned of two small businessmen who are very happy with the tax cuts. One saved enough to be able to completely update his computer system for a 12-person office. The other was able to hire another employee with his savings. The payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare as well as the AMT have been in place for many years, well prior to the present Bush administration. To refer to them as a “dirty little secret” is disingenuous. Albert R. Wartchow Brookfield, Wis.
To Show or Not to Show?
Thank you for publishing the photographs of the charred bodies of the victims of the horrible incident in Fallujah (“Has the War Made Us Safer?” April 12). A news organization exists to report the news–no matter how harsh or brutal–not to decide if readers, listeners or viewers should be protected from these realities. Thank you for showing us the truth, not censoring it. Robert Leech Cordova, Tenn.
As one of the many wives whose husbands are working in Iraq as civilian contractors for Blackwater Security Consulting, I was horrified to pick up Newsweek’s April 12 issue and see that you published two photos of the American contractors murdered in Fallujah. Those men volunteered to defend our country, and we honor them by showing their terrible end? By publishing these pictures, you overstepped your boundaries. Where is the honor in that? I hope no one who has lost a family member, soldier or civilian, to the war in Iraq ever picks up this magazine and sees those photos. Lindsay Yahn Jacksonville, Fla.
Voting With an Ancient System
Rose Lundblad’s My Turn struck an ominous chord with me (“Politics as Usual Just Won’t Cut It This Time,” April 12). In March I was disenfranchised for the first time in five decades of voting. I requested and was given a paper ballot as an alternative to Maryland’s new touch-screen computer-voting system, which has no paper trail. Two weeks later I received a letter from my Board of Elections informing me that my ballot had been rejected during canvassing. The reason: the provisional paper ballot I had requested and received was “not a choice.” I feel I was disenfranchised. That raises another question. Could Maryland become another Florida? Joseph Stalin said, “Those who vote decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything.” Our voting system should inspire trust, not cynicism. I am worried about November. H. K. Kolbe Columbia, Md.
