Secretary Timothy Geithner's Citizenship Privilege Tax

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stated in an interview that the rich need to pay more taxes for the privilege of being an American; yet, over half of American citizens don’t pay federal income taxes, whatsoever. Politifacts confirms this assertion:

Conservatives have a point that richer Americans pay the lion’s share of federal taxes. In 2007, according to the Urban-Brookings Center, the richest 20 percent paid 68.9 percent of federal taxes, and the top 1 percent paid 28.1 percent. (One would expect the rich to pay more, since they earn more, but these percentages are even higher than their share of the nation's total income. According to one frequently cited academic study, the top 20 percent earned 61.4 percent of income in 2006 and the top 1 percent earned 21.3 percent of income that same year.)

In addition, the richest 10 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent of taxpayers each paid significantly higher effective tax rates than Americans lower on the income spectrum.

So, what price does a teat squawker pay for the price of being an American citizen? Why just as much as an illegal alien of course.

Thirteen years after Congress overhauled the American welfare system, 57 percent of immigrants with children &#151 those in the country legally or not &#151 use at least one government, welfare program according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies.

In comparison, 39 percent of native-born Americans with children are signed up for welfare, the report found.

In Texas, 54 percent of legal immigrants and 70 percent of illegal immigrants receive welfare assistance, with illegal immigrants generally receiving benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children, according to the study, written by a think tank that favors reducing immigration into the U.S.

Overall, Texas tied with California and New York for the second highest immigrant welfare rates behind Arizona.

We should note that the study takes an expansive view of what constitutes a government welfare program, so programs such as reduced-price school lunches for low-income students are classified as welfare, according to CIS’ methodology.

Texas showed 61 percent of households headed by an immigrant utilizing at least one program compared to the 42 percent of Texas natives on welfare.

It looks like the privileges of being an illegal alien outweigh that of a productive American citizen; a disparity that even Turbo Tax couldn’t remedy.

Source:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jul/08/john-cornyn/john-cornyn-says-51-percent-american-households-pa/

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/04/study-70-of-texas-illegal-immigrant-families-receive-welfare/

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8702329-majority-of-us-immigrant-households-with-children-on-welfare