Newly elected Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has quickly become a prominent lightning rod for right-wing attacks, as the conservative media and its multitudinous tendrils criticize even her smallest utterances with every ounce of bad faith they can muster.
Her recent suggestion that perhaps we should raise taxes on the super-rich, with a possible top marginal tax bracket of 70% has drawn a particularly vociferous response from Republicans and their surrogates, with much of their pushback hinging on a deliberate misrepresentation of how tax brackets work.
The GOP wants voters to think that the 70% tax would apply to an individual’s entire income so that their take home would be only a net 30%. In reality, the 70% tax would only apply to earnings over a certain threshold. In other words, if you made $10 million, the entire sum wouldn’t be hit with a 70% tax, it would only apply to each dollar made above that $10 million line.
This morning, Scott Walker, the vile Republican who served as Wisconsin’s’ governor before being defeated in the most recent 2018 election, took to Twitter to share an intentionally misleading anecdote about how 70% marginal taxes rates work.
He claimed that he recently explained tax rates to 5th graders by telling them it would be like doing chores for their grandmother, being paid $10 for the work, and then returning home only to have their parents take $7 from them. Walker says the children found the hypothetical unfair, but the only “unfair” thing here is a former governor exploiting his platform to intentionally mislead voters. As explained above, this is not how our tax brackets work.
Explaining tax rates before Reagan to 5th graders: “Imagine if you did chores for your grandma and she gave you $10. When you got home, your parents took $7 from you.” The students said: “That’s not fair!” Even 5th graders get it.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 15, 2019
Soon after Walker’s terrible tweet, Ocasio-Cortez pounced, demonstrating once again that her opponents are no match for her in these online battles. She broke down the problems with Walker’s tax rate explanation, showcasing her trademark wit in the process. It was a succinct, confident rebuttal of Republican nonsense, exactly what we have come to expect from this rising Democratic star. Maybe next time, Walker will think twice before spreading shameless misinformation.
Explaining marginal taxes to a far-right former Governor:
Imagine if you did chores for abuela & she gave you $10. When you got home, you got to keep it, because it’s only $10.
Then we taxed the billionaire in town because he’s making tons of money underpaying the townspeople. https://t.co/Wcnn2sEgek
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 15, 2019
