By Matthew Reichbach 4/15/10 9:33 AM
A nationwide New York Times/CBS News poll released yesterday finds that a majority (53 percent) of tea party supporters are “angry about the way things are going in Washington,” most (63 percent) watch Fox News, and they are more than twice as likely (53 to 24 percent) as the general public to say they believe that the network’s commentary shows, such as those hosted by Glen Beck and Sean Hannity, are “news” rather than “entertainment.” [mjh: Recall that Beck and others often claim they are entertainment foremost.] In addition, they are significantly more likely (24 to 16 percent) to say that it is “ever justified to take violent action against the government.”
They also think—incorrectly—that most people share their views. Nearly 85 percent of tea party supporters say “the views of the people involved in the tea party movement generally reflect the views of most Americans,” while only 25 percent of the general public agrees.
The Times also created a great series of infographics about the poll.
Update added 4/15 9:30pm
There’s another whopper popular out there on FOX News, right-wing talk radio, and the Albuquerque Journal. It goes like this:
“Did you know that 47 percent of all taxpayers – almost half – pay no federal income tax? Why should half of America be supporting the other half? It’s not fair”
As a well-researched piece in the New York Times points out, this whopper ignores the inconvenient truth that income taxes are not—by a long stretch — the only federal taxes people pay. When you look at the whole picture — which includes payroll taxes like Social Security and Medicare — you get a very different number. According to the CBO, only about 10 percent of all households, at most, pay no net federal taxes. That’s a significantly less outrageous number, so you won’t hear it on FOX news.
15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America
The gap between the top 1% and everyone else hasn’t been this bad since the Roaring Twenties
This chart shows average income of the top 1% as a multiple of average income of the bottom 90%.
Bigger chart @ The Nation
Gus Lubin | Apr. 9, 2010, 10:33 AM
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Cliché, sure, but it’s also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age.
The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.
If you’re in that top 1%, life is grand.
Here’s 15 Mind-Blowing Charts About Wealth And Inequality In America >
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/15-charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-america-2010-4#ixzz0lEMydAkG
Second Update added 4/16 8am
Investing in public structures together Sharon Kayne
Without taxes, we would have little infrastructure and a very small percentage of the population would be able to read and write. In other words, we would be a Third World country.
Despite our enduring mythology of Americans as “rugged individuals,” this country was not built by individuals acting alone. Certainly, many very talented and enterprising individuals made significant contributions. But we built this great country together, and we did a lot of it by investing in public structures together.
Taxes are not the penalty you pay for being an American. Taxes are the communal kitty that we all chip in to so we can accomplish great things as a nation.
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2010/04/without-taxes-america-would-be-a-third-world-country/