NPR exposes the BIG LIE

The millionaire-defenders in the U.S. Senate once again blocked a proposal to stop a big tax hike on 160 million, mostly middle-class, Americans that will go into effect January 1, 2012.  The reason given by the obstructionists once again was that the surtax on income over $1 million to pay for middle-class tax protection would hurt small business owners and stop them from hiring.

I and many small business organizations have railed against this BIG LIE for well over a year.  Very, very few small business owners make this kind of income--certainly none that you run into on Main Street. 

According to the Tax Policy Center only 1 percent of taxpayers reporting any business income make over $1 million a year.  As I pointed out in my blog on October 13^th, this means only about 45 South Carolinians could accept the challenge I made two days earlier for any one of these business owners making over $1 million to contact me to discuss this issue.

My challenge, as expected, went unanswered and today NPR released the results of its search for small business owners making over $1 million a year.

We wanted to talk to business owners who would be affected. So, NPR requested help from numerous Republican congressional offices, including House and Senate leadership. They were unable to produce a single millionaire job creator for us to interview.

So we went to the business groups that have been lobbying against the surtax. Again, three days after putting in a request, none of them was able to find someone for us to talk to.

Failing to have any of the millionaire-defenders in Congress and the big business organizations pony up the small business millionaires, NPR turned to Facebook.  Several responded and talked to NPR on the record.  Not one objected to the millionaire surtax and each said that their personal income tax has nothing to do with their business hiring decisions.

Of course Senator John Thune (R-S.D), a member of the millionaire-defender club, said that those business owners talking with NPR “were exceptions to the rule”. 

I have news for Senator Thune.  If you can’t deliver even one small business owner making over $1 million a year to back up the BIG LIE, then those that do step up are the rule.

The 99% need help

Yesterday the Senate failed to move forward the President’s plan to invest $35 billion in the states to help keep teachers, law enforcement personnel and firefighters from being fired due to budget shortfalls.  The 60 votes were needed to keep the measure alive but all 50 of the GOP Senators voted against it.

So what was the reason for voting against keeping more of these essential workers on the job and thus keeping more money on Main Street for our small businesses? 

The plan would have been funded by a 0.5% increase in taxes on income over $1 million.  That’s not five percent; it’s one half of one percent.   But in spite of 64% of the public agreeing that asking millionaires to pay just a little more to help with jobs, the Senate Republicans said no.  Not only did they say no, they said that they were just protecting 300,000 small business owners having a hard time with cash flow and credit. 

Now, I don’t know if that 300,000 figure is accurate or not.  The real number of taxpayers with some business income and making over $1 million is only 1% according to the Tax Policy Center.  I’ll let someone else do the math.

But using any small business owner making over $1 million a year as an excuse not to help our nation’s economy is a ridiculous and illogical argument.

Any small business owner taking home this kind of massive income is not struggling with cash flow and credit problems.  Period. 

If a small business can afford to pay its owner over $1 million in compensation, that owner can afford to pay a half a penny more in taxes on every dollar over a million to help keep teachers and first responders on the job and more customer demand for the other 99% of small businesses.

Millionaire challenge

Tuesday I challenged any real business owner making over $1 million a year to contact me to discuss the proposed millionaire surtax to pay for the President’s American Jobs Act.   (A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows about 64% public approval for both the surtax and jobs plan). 

The U.S. Chamber, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the rest of the millionaire defenders club called The Tax Relief Coalition claim that 80% of taxpayers making over a million a year are “business owners”.   Since there are 4500 South Carolina taxpayers with this kind of income, that would mean that there are 3600 “business owners” making $1 million a year.  Surely one of these people could accept my challenge.

As of today, no one has contacted me and now I know why.  The numbers from the Coalition are phony (what a surprise).  According to the Tax Policy Center only 1 percent of taxpayers reporting any business income make over $1 million a year. 

So there are really only about 45 South Carolinians who could accept my challenge.  And I’m willing to bet that few if any of these 45 actually run a small business.  The rest are passive investors not Main Street business folks.

Never-the-less, the fear mongering on how increasing taxes on the very wealthy will hurt small businesses continues.  An analysis that debunks all the funny math in these arguments can be found in a piece by Zach Carter and Sam Stein in today’s Huffington Post.  Check it out.