Hillary Clinton Says She Isn't 'Truly Well Off' Saturday Guardian news

[thomhartmann]

72. She's pointing out the difference between income tax and capital gains tax

Here's what she's pointing out (and referencing Romney):

If you earn your income from work (physical, mental, or speech-giving), you pay up to 39% federal income tax, and proportionate state and local taxes. She's saying that's where most of her income comes from.

OTOH, if you "earn" your income sitting on your butt around the pool waiting to the dividend checks to arrive from your "investments" (aka Romney & Paris Hilton), then you are among the select few who don't pay ordinary income tax, but instead pay a much lower "capitol gains" tax - maximum of 20%. While she's clearly in the top 1% or even .1%, the *truly* rich earn the vast majority of their income as capital gains and dividends and thus pay about half the taxes that "workers" like Hillary do.

This is no defense of Hillary & I'm not speaking to the merits of the context in which she said this; just pointing out what she meant (and, unfortunately, is lost on most Americans) - that we have two tax systems, one for workers (from mill-workers to brain surgeons) earning paychecks, and another, far more generous one, for people who make money with money (aka Romney).

Thom