Oh Noes! Obama will raise your taxes!*

Fiscal Conservative (4.00 / 7)

From John Coles Balloon Juice


Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 19:52:44 PM CDT

Going viral (4.00 / 1)

This graphic came to me 3rd generation from an unlikely source. Many care, but don't bother to FW:'ed such things. That seems to be changing.

So I sent it out to keep it spreading. Please remember to wash the distribution.

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 11:31:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wash? n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: JimC @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 11:57:51 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

E-mail etiquette (4.00 / 2)

Maybe wash isn't the right word. I just meant, please send your distribution in the blind.

I hate to see my address mixed in with 30 others, so I try to be diligent about not forwarding others along.

Too picky?

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 12:32:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not at all (4.00 / 1)

Great point. I just didn't know what you meant.

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by: JimC @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 12:35:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hahahaha! (0.00 / 0)

This is great - I've been struggling all day to put this graphic in a post, but Ive been stymied by the title, and you beat me to it!

My running title was "John Sununu, the "Smartest Man in the Senate," either thinks Granite Staters are millionaires or are stoopid," followed by the usual ridiculous quotes from him, found everywhere he goes, saying that Obama and Shaheen will raise your taxes.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 19:54:43 PM CDT

When Rove thinks you've gone too far... (0.00 / 0)

It's all about truthiness.

Annie 2012!

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by: JonnyBBad @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:00:45 PM CDT

I was trying to find that graphic the other day (4.00 / 1)

Some one was ranting and raving about Obama wanting to raise his taxes, and he looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned that I didn't realize he had $500,000+ of income per year. Didn't realize the real number was actually $600,000+!

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by: Alex Gallichon @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:01:38 PM CDT

Should I be putting my money under a mattress? (4.00 / 2)

Lehman's going down, Merill Lynch is tottering, AIG and WaMu might be next.

This is insane.  Let's put another Republican who doesn't understand economics into the White House!

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:06:03 PM CDT

I think we have reasonable security (0.00 / 0)

against a run on the banks, thanks to safeguards implemented by the Democrats more than half a century ago.

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by: Alex Gallichon @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:35:27 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

FDIC (0.00 / 0)

Yes thanks to FDR we have that security which Republicans know run to.

I much rather tax and make sure this country is solvent then have plunderess Republicans bankrupt this country.

"I'm not smart enough to run the economy."

- John McCain (r) Arizona

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by: TJMCNH1 @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:41:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The Republicans have been dismantling them (0.00 / 0)

The Glass-Steagall Act, keeping banking and stock trading separate, is gone.

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 07:49:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

New Index (0.00 / 0)

The Mattress Index...hear it twice in first news cycle...one froma Sr. VP at BOA..."Mattress or Gold" where will people put their money ?

Annie 2012!

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 19:35:43 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Time to go to the mattresses? n/t (0.00 / 0)

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 22:07:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

"Leave the gun, take the cannolis" (0.00 / 0)

Annie 2012!

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 05:55:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Beautiful (4.00 / 1)

I want that graphic on a T-shirt.

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by: JimC @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:22:00 PM CDT

it may be worth (4.00 / 5)

photocopying and including with canvass materials.

Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 20:25:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Problem is that the "average" at the bottom should be median. (0.00 / 0)

--
@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 23:01:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Even Bubbles Greenspan (4.00 / 1)

doesn't like McCain's tax plan.

So now he's lost both husband and wife.  Well done, Mavwreck!

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 21:23:50 PM CDT

Perfect! Thanks, Mike. (0.00 / 0)

I will be passing out multiple copies at a neighborhood meeting tomorrow evening. Also sent one to an octogenarian relative who is convinced that Obama is coming to get his dough... ;)

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 22:58:25 PM CDT

You (4.00 / 1)

community activist, you.

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 07:06:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Mission accomplished. n/t (0.00 / 0)

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 19:21:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Let the record show (0.00 / 0)

that Congressional salaries are not enough to be affected by Obama's proposed tax increase.

--
@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 23:00:31 PM CDT

That graphic seems too busy and confusing to me. (0.00 / 0)

I've seen it in several places. I believe it violates several principles of graphic design and can be easily misread.

The same data could be presented more crisply, with less confusion, I suspect.

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 07:51:19 AM CDT

Get on it n/t (4.00 / 1)

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by: JimC @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 09:46:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Here's a stab: (4.00 / 2)

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 16:25:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

That should be titled 'Tax Saving as Percent of Income' (0.00 / 0)

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 16:26:23 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

To really want to make the point -- (4.00 / 1)

Make the green Republican red, and the blue a more Democratic blue.

And to the left of the Y-axis, above the X-axis, put "Tax cuts," with an arrow pointing up above it, and below the X-axis, put "Tax increases" with an arrow pointing down below it.

And change the income categories to percentiles of Americans, i.e. "0 to 16th percentile ($0-18,981)" and "99th to 99.9th percentile (603)".  If possible, do this for every ten percent up to 90, to underline the fact that this is the vast majority of people, not the 44-55% that the current number of bars suggests.  Then 95%, then 98%, then 99%, then 99.9%.

(Granted, this might need a bit more research to get all the data...)

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by: Tim C. @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 18:36:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

One point that jumped out at me (4.00 / 2)

in reformatting this is: McCain doesn't recover ANY of the money he gives away. He relies on discredited "Cut tax rates and revenues will grow" magic beans, which have piled up all the debt for our grandkids.

If you can just deficit-spend to win votes, why not hand out still more to everyone?

(BTW: I avoided 'Red-Blue' because 'Red' is overloaded with 'Red Ink = Loss' overtones. It pains me to be unfair to Republicans.)

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by: elwood @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 18:41:20 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Viscera (4.00 / 1)

This attempt, while noble, doesn't hit me like the Post version. My only real issue with their graph is that the note about the bottom three brackets being 60% of taxpayers should be much more prominent.

I see your point about the potential for misreading, but it's crystal clear whose taxes are going up under Obama's plan. Not mine.

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by: JimC @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 21:52:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The orignal has more information than mine (4.00 / 1)

And if the reader wants a summary of major policy differences, it can be closely read to get more information.

My dissatisfaction with it is for a more general audience. If the story it wants to tell is, "Here's how it affects YOU," I think it's too busy.

But YMMV.

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by: elwood @ Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 17:58:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Incidentally (0.00 / 0)

I remember like a bell Dan Rather's famous line describing Reagan's landslide in 1980. "It's starting to look like a suburban swimming pool." He said that because Reagan states were blue. But at some point the colors flipped, and that's good, because I think we're better off being blue.

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by: JimC @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 21:56:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Colors are off (4.00 / 3)

for sure... in that they represent party rather than positive or negative tax impact. Not real neccessary to the understanding of the information.

If I had a bit more time I might try to remix it but I'm swamped.

Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 12:41:03 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

GREAT new tax plan chart! (4.00 / 3)

From chartjunk as cited by the NY Times Freakonomics blog - same info as WashPo's Brookings graphic, but this graphic is adjusted both for population and revenues.

Here:



Special delivery for elwood and Mike :-)

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by: Garth Corriveau @ Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 19:53:52 PM CDT

Thats great (4.00 / 1)

Thanks for finding that. I had started a sketch simlar to elwood's but did not think on it it long enough to find the way to demonstrate the 60% of us are here sort of thing. This does it very well. I think it still suffers from issues with color for political party but a big improvement on the Post piece.

P.S. Chart junk is a term by Edward Tufte our contemporary guru in presenting information.

Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 22:14:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

some more tweeks to it (0.00 / 0)

from what you posted live at
http://chartjunk.karmanaut.com...

and I came across this today as well
http://alchemytoday.com/obamat...

Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 22:22:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

ermm (0.00 / 0)

came across it from JonnyBBad in a rec'd diary on this site.. doh!

Hope > Fear




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by: Mike Hoefer @ Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 22:25:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]