He compared the private health care voucher program he supports to LASIK eye surgery. LASIK used to be expensive and performed by only a few doctors; now it's cheap(er) and many docs can do it. WTF did he mean by that? Your guess is as good as mine. 

But if he's saying that his voucher program will pay for cosmetic surgery, I'm all for it! I could use a few touch-ups.

It was obviously a pre-packaged powerpoint to push an ideology rather than sensible economics.  And a pre-packaged ideological presentation is hardly a town hall meeting with an exchange of ideas.  But I'm afraid many politicians do that regardless of political party.

Good to see the voters in the eight decided to elect a congress critter who is as profoundly factually challenged as the estimable Ms. Bachmann.

So the poorest (approximately) 50% of Americans don't pay any taxes?  How about sales tax, and payroll tax ? And how about the fact that the bottom 50% of Americans only own 3.5 % of the wealth?! That perspective goes missing with this latest talking point.

Sales tax: Not a federal tax, and not paid on housing, food or clothing.  Any sales tax paid by "the poor" is by their own choice.

Payroll taxes: Only half are paid by the workers, yet the worker reaps ALL of the benefits in retirement.  Hardly a tax.....more like a shifting of "wealth".

Maybe the bottom 50% should re-evaluate what they're doing in life if they have a problem with only owning 3.5% of the "wealth".  No one is standing in their way if they want to go out and do something more lucrative.

I'm curious about the background or basis for the 'nearly 50%' quote. The way I've seen it printed it says 'nearly 50% of US citizens do not pay any federal income tax'. Anyone know what the percentage is of US citizens who are under 18 years old? I'm guessing they don't pay much income tax, which I'm mostly ok with. I'd much rather see children taxed via other means than the income tax.

How do I get $92k in disability for sleep apnea?

The "47% pay no federal income taxes" is misleading.  90% of Americans pay "Federal Payroll Tax" on their income.  The "Federal Payroll Tax" on income that 90% of Americans pay is a very regressive tax that only taxes the first $106,800 of earnings, so a billionaire pays just as much as someone who makes $106,800.

But the "Federal Payroll Tax" is a legal fiction that is separate from the "Federal Income Tax," another legal fiction.  There are also taxes on investments, which is a form of income for many and do not fall within the "Federal Income Tax" category.  

So there are many taxes on income that are not technically in the "Federal Income Taxes" category, including the payroll tax.

They are also cherry picking the dates.  In the worst part of the great recession, it did get up to 47% for "Federal Income Taxes," which are just one of many types of federal tax on income.  But normally that number is closer to 20%, and that number does not apply to other forms of federal taxes on income (like the payroll tax).  

And the rich hide their money in multiple legal categories, so many (Fox News) can exaggerate how much they pay of their "Income" since their real income is not in the legal "Income" category.

And the rich pay much lower overall state and local taxes (the middle class in MN pay about a 40% higher tax rate than the rich).

The real question is "What OVERALL tax rates do they pay?"  The rich pay a far lower tax rate than the middle and working classes OVERALL.  The rich get far more tax loopholes, tax shelters, and tax breaks.  After loopholes, the rich pay a much, much lower tax rate.

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/debunking-47-pay-no-taxes-talking-point

Here's a good breakdown of who pays no federal income tax and why. It works out that the very old, the very poor and the very young don't pay federal income tax. The number is higher in 2011 than in other recent years because there are many more who are very poor. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/why-do-half-of-all-americans-pay-no-federal-income-taxes/2011/07/11/gIQA8olBuI_blog.html

From Chip's "This Week in Washington" email:

On Thursday, I held a town hall meeting at the airport in Duluth.  Over 200 people squeezed into this open event and had an opportunity to speak their mind.  It always amazes me how active and savvy the people of the 8th are and I thoroughly enjoyed the spirited discourse.  As I have said many times before, it is my job to listen to the concerns of all my constituents and that mantra will guide me through the 112th Congress.

Flat tax with no hidey-holes, offshore or other.

And on the flat tax issue, a flat income tax would make things worse.  Most taxes (like sales and property taxes) fall more heavily on middle and lower income people.  The progressive income tax (in which the wealthier pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes) was developed to balance out the sales and property taxes (which fall more heavily on middle and lower income people) so that the overall tax system would be fairer.  The fact that the right-wing is appalled that people who pay a huge portion of their income in sales, payroll, and property taxes don't pay federal income tax shows just how twisted these people are.  (And yes, renters pay property tax indirectly through their rent.)

Btw was thumbing that last one in from my phone so I apologize for the spelling issues - wish I cld log in and edit my comments