[driftless2]

You’re correct that the GOP should start saying those things, but I have a Dem friend who when I told him who pays what as far as income taxes, simply refused to believe me. That’s the problem: millions of Dems would rather believe lies than the truth. It, Dem pols lies, speaks to the average Dem that says yes, they are put upon by the rich, AND IT’S JUST NOT FAIR!!! I mean that’s why they’re Dems. They have a fantastic capacity for self-delusion and feeling sorry for themselves. Add ignorance to that, and you have a voter who’s extremely difficult to convince.

[LearnsFromMistakes]

I agree the GOP has to get a consistent message out.

econjack: The top 10% of the income earners in this country foot 71% of the federal tax bill, while the lower 51% of the people pay no taxes.

thatjoeguy: without question the brunt of paying these taxes always falls on the middle class.

I know what both posters are saying and I agree with them. But the 'give me free stuff' crowd needs this explained a bit better.

[econjack]

Tell them to get off their lazy ass and look it up for themselves. If they're too lazy (quite likely), point them to:

http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html

or

http://taxfoundation.org/article/new-data-top-1-pay-greater-dollar-amount-income-taxes-federal-government-bottom-90

If they still won't believe you, tell 'em I said they are stupid and shouldn't have the right to vote.

[Straight Vermonter]

I have a Dem friend who when I told him who pays what as far as income taxes, simply refused to believe me.

Start the conversation by asking what percentage of taxes the top 10% should pay. I usually have people say something like "they should pay at least half of all the taxes". Then show them the actual figures.

This usually leads to a fair amount of sputtering on their part.