What is this 53%... Where did they get that...

[WCGreen]

I couldn't read any more of those smug messages on the We are the 53% board to figure out what it is...

please explain,

I missed a few days lately, haven't been feeling all that great...

I need to be enlightened.

[shraby]

1. My guess it's shills hired by the 1% to confuse the ones

with lesser abilities (tparty types). Unfortunately they don't realize that the "53%" are part of what makes up the 99%, because they aren't the 1%.

[WCGreen]

2. yea, but where did they get the 53% slogan from.

[Richardo]

3. It's because the right wing canard is that 47% don't pay federal income tax.

...so they're the 53% that do.

Of course, intentionally overlooked is the inconvenient fact that the poor pay sales taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, federal excise taxes, etc, etc.

[WCGreen]

4. Oh, I get it...

So anyone who doesn't pay income taxes has no voice in how this country is being run...

[Richardo]

7. Yeah, that's it.

Amazing, isn't it?

[phasma ex machina]

13. Close, but no cigar. Only banksters and corporations have a voice in how this country is run. nt

[ellenfl]

14. thanks. i was wondering the same. i thought it was the

percentage of repubs who supported ows but that did not make sense. but wasn't that 53% as well?

ellen fl

[SkyDaddy7]

5. The group should be named...

"SHEEP" who keep the 1% in power!

[Eric J in MN]

6. The percentage represents how many people pay federal income taxes.

It doesn't capture the number of people who pay payroll taxes, or the number who pay local sales taxes.

People who don't pay federal income taxes include some of the elderly and some of the unemployed and some poor working people with dependent children.

The 53% website is a takeoff on the 99% website of "Occupy Wall Street."

On each website, people write about their financial troubles (debt, lack of health care, etc.)

But the 53% notes have a theme of: While I have these troubles, I don't blame Wall Street.

[WCGreen]

8. I saw that I just wanted to know where the 53% came from...

It is the same shit that I remember from the 60's...

I pay taxes and you don't so you shouldn't bitch about stuff...

That was the way it was back in the 60's...

[KT2000]

9. and gas tax and

phone tax and tobacco tax

[JI7]

10. it's not just the wealthy, it's ofen middle class types who spew this BS

and are more hateful towards anyone who has less than the wealthy. i know a few people like this, blaming anything that goes wrong on the poor , homeless etc and wanting to kiss ass of the wealthy.

[Warpy]

11. The absurd claim is that 47% of workers pay no income tax

The real number is between 10% and 14%. The only real 53% I've seen in the past week is the 53% of the American public who couldn't name a single Republican candidate for president.

People on that 53% site should have "CHUMP" tattooed on their foreheads.

Edit: http://www.politicususa.com/en/half-americans-taxes

[WCGreen]

12. That's for sure...

I bet they pay less of a percentage in governmental taxes and fees than a person who doesn't pay income taxes but has to pay sales, gasoline, hidden excise taxes...

[Andy823]

15. Well...

What I wonder his how many people "actually" are on that site? If you ask me only a small amount of that 53% would even think about siding on the corporations side! Polls show that the vast majority of people in this country side with making the rich and corporations pay more taxes. I bet some of that wall street money is behind the 53% site and not "real" people. It's probably the same lame posters posting over and over using different stories! Tea baggers are great at lying!