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July 17, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: The free enterprise system is under threat.
The highest tax rate for hedge fund managers is 20%, as “carried interest.” If you are married and filing jointly, your rate is 22% between 44,725 and $95,375. Fair?
Those 20 percenters include: $4.1 billion, Kenneth Griffin; $3.2 billion, Israel Englander; $1.9 billion, Steven Cohen; $1.2 billion, David Tepper; $1.1 billion, James Simons; $1 billion, John Overdeck, David Siegel; $900 million, Ray Dalio; David Shaw; $875 million, Said Haidar. Other 20 percenters make mere tens or hundreds of millions.
Not being taxed at 37% saves Griffin $697 million. Under Republicans’ Fair Tax Act, income tax will be eliminated, so he will be spared the cruelty of paying $820 million at 20%. The Republican alternative? A 30% national sales tax, up from Virginia’s 4.3%. A 597% increase for you.
Republicans have another good idea: privatizing Medicare and Social Security to make up for cancelled taxes on the wealthy. Voting a straight party ticket means you support raising sales tax rates.
Billionaires have a combined wealth of $4.48 trillion. They need tax relief.
Over 80% of Trump’s deficitraising tax cut went to the top 1%. Trump is in that group. In 2020, 55 corporations paid no federal taxes: Amazon earnings, $10 billion; Delta Air Lines, $5 billion; Chevron, $4.55 billion; General Motors, $4.32 billion; EOG Resources, $4.067 billion.
The Supreme Court serves wealth, in 1976 defining money as speech (Buckley), and in 2010, defining corporations as people entitled to political speech (Citizens United). Didn’t you know oil companies were persons with a right to influence elections? These cases reversed decadesold limits on campaign spending. $14.4 billion was spent on elections in 2020, $16.7 billion in 2022.
Political campaigns being expensive, are politicians coming to your house for money or to wealthy individuals and corporations who will expect favors in return? Other healthy democracies limit both campaign length and spending.
Justices Alito and Thomas accepted “gifts,” a euphemism, (and didn’t report them) from billionaires who had cases before your Supreme Court.
Coincidences never end. Ask Ben Cline if he supports this new “free market.”
Socialism is already here. For the rich. JOE PETITE Rockbridge County
