PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID)

Some of this information has been garnered from an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) entitled April Revenue Shower on Wednesday May 9, 2007 on page A16. 

According to the latest Treasury report, Tax receipts for April were $70 billion above the same month in 2006, and April 24 marked the single biggest day of tax collections in U.S. history, at $48.7 billion.

Unfortunately when destroyers of the American Dream (DEAD) comment on daily news programs and talk shows about the disparity between rich and poor in America they usually conclude by stating that there is not enough income because the rich aren’t paying their “fair share.”  Nothing irritates us more at PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID) because those words are ignorant of the facts.  The top earners are paying a lion’s share of income taxes in America.  According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office the top forty per cent pay 99.1% of all income taxes.  About 60% pay nothing at all.  Not one red cent.  That’s just not right.  When we ponder these figures we are amazed at how much that 40% are paying in actual dollars.

I was inspired to write this essay from an editorial I read entitled Assault on the Investor Class published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) on May 7,2007 on page A14 under Review & Outlook banner.

We here at PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID) are often befuddled in attempting to understand the obtuse stances taken by the destroyers of the American Dream (DEAD).  Here we have the latest enemy of the DEAD, now under attack and this time it’s one of the great institutions for building businesses in America, namely Private Equity Firms.  This week Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley, the chairman and ranking minority member of the Finance Committee, have decided to hold “informal meetings’ to ponder what amounts to a 133% tax hike on private equity firms, by taxing profits at higher income rates.  Don’t bother looking for any good rationale for this beyond the fact that Congress wants money and private equity funds have an abundance of it.  Private equity firms will raise and invest one-half trillion dollars of investment capital this year, money that provides start-up and expansion-phase financing for firms large and small.  Private equity firms also involve themselves in leveraged buy-outs of ailing companies and public corporations whose stock price is under performing.  Some such companies that have benefited from Private Equity Firms recently are Toys “R” Us, Neiman Marcus, Dunkin’ Donuts and Hispanic Television Network: Univision.

I recently read an editorial entitled $650 Billion Tax Hike, written by Stephen Moore, who is a senior economics writer for the editorial page, and published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) on April 30, 2007 on page A15.  It got me thinking and seething.

PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID) members are privileged to get a glimpse of what a destroyers of the American Dream (DEAD) Democrat controlled congress would look like if a DEAD Chief Executive is elected in 2008.  Such an administration would most likely raise capital gains taxes from the present 15% to about 31% and ordinary income tax rates would be near the 50% rate.

I read with interest an editorial titled Homeowners Rebellion that was published in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) on May 1, 2007 on page A20.  It got me thinking about the high taxes we pay for the privilege of living in our homes.  A funny thing about property taxes is that the more money we put into our homes to improve them, the more dollars the governing agencies want as a tax levy for living in such luxury.  It’s as though we are punished for wanting to live in comfort.  This is traditional Destroyer of the American Dream (DEAD) thinking.  The sudden cries for fairness concerning property taxes are not incidental.  As cities mismanage their administrative duties the burden falls to those who can’t imagine taking on yet higher tax bills.  Income taxes are already out of hand with 40 % of Americans paying 100% of the taxes.  These high tax obligations, of course, are reserved for property owners who with the swipe of a pen now have to pay increasingly more just to live in their homes.  The good news is that the old fashioned protest is rapidly coming back in form in such diverse place as Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut, Arizona, Virginia and New Jersey where I reside.  The intelligent voters of Princeton NJ recently rejected a new tax levy for school improvements for the first time in sixteen years.  Homes valued there just under a half million dollars are already taxed at close to $14,000 annually.  And $500,000 homes in Princeton are a far cry from castles for the rich.

I read with interest an editorial called Land of 10,000 Taxes written by Jason Lewis who leads Minnesota’s Tax Cut Coalition, which was published in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal (WJS.com) dated April 28 and 29, 2007, on page A8.  I have to admit that this message frightened me because it shows what can happen if the destroyers of the American Dream (DEAD) are left to their own devices. 

If there are any members of PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID) who question our constant harping about the media and how it favors those who wish to destroy the American Dream (DEAD), perhaps this writing will demonstrate the seriousness of the situation at hand.  The DEAD love taxes and they adore big government.  Often any attempt to cut unfair taxes for the rich is either unfairly edited or completely ignored by the media, as is the case here.  It is our duty to point out where and how the DEAD are employing their devious methods.  This time it occurred in the Twin Cities on Saturday, April 14th with over 7000 Minnesotans in attendance to protest overly aggressive spending and a push for more tax hikes on the “rich.”  It was the largest political rally for tax relief in Minnesota history.  But it was pretty much ignored by the media.  The Star Tribune of Minneapolis and the CBS affiliated station were seemingly much more interested in playing up a “global warming day of action” rally that was held just a block away and much less attended.  But Sierra Club funded the global warming demonstration and MoveOn.org was sending email reminders.  The media seems to always favor such liberal institutions.  To add insult to injury, the CBS station ran a web page video report about the global warming demonstration, not the tax protest, but used video clips of the tax protest to add credibility.  Only after protesting, was the video removed.

After reading a Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) editorial by Kimberley A. Strassel (kim@wsj.com) titled Tort Tribute published Friday, April 27, 2007 on page A16, I was frustrated enough to write this memo.  The contents herein may seem to be a diversion from typical topics covered in PreserveTheAmericanDream.com (PAID) but upon careful thought the reader is reminded that one of the powerful devices used by the DEAD to destroy the American Dream (DUDD) is the courtroom.  The destroyers of the American dream (DEAD) create more havoc in the courtroom than anywhere else.  It’s the legal manipulations that legally steal dollars from those who earn it honestly that begin to gnaw at the foundation of the American Dream.  According to Strassel the latest target for exploitation is proposed to be the wealthy financial institutions that created opportunities for those who couldn’t acquire home ownership any other way but to deal in the subprime marketplace.

Finally tax season is over and it’s a new month.  We can all take a fresh look at the damage.  It was a very frustrating experience to read an editorial by Stephen Moore, entitled Those April Blues, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) that appeared in the Journal on April 13, 2007 on page A12.  As he explains the amazing and unfortunate growth of the Internal Revenue Service he brings our attention to the on-again, off-again concept of a flat tax that would be a fair across-the-board tax imposed on every income earning American.  Imagine how fair that would be.  No favoritism, no unfair increases in tax rates just because someone earns more money but most importantly, no one is excused.

Memo by Al Parinello, Founder of PAID

It was Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving, 2006.  We were getting ready for a friends and family celebration.  The turkey was marinating getting ready for it’s traditional 8 hour outdoor grilling the next day.  The phone was constantly ringing with well-wishers informing us that they are looking forward to the celebration.  The house was in tip-top shape and ready to host the gathering.  Out the window I saw the postal jeep make its delivery.  As I walked down the driveway I contemplated how good life is.  I had just sold my latest venture, an FM station I conceived 11 years earlier and worked my butt off to build into New Jersey’s highest rated Rock formatted station.  That was enough to attract serious buyers.  The company that bought it was a much larger competitor we had pummeled year after year until they got smart and made me the right offer.  That was 8 months earlier and the idea of having some free time was embraced but like any entrepreneur I was getting ready for something new.