Those conservative Republicans continue to beat the drum about high taxes and the need to continue tax cuts for the rich.  Well, as usual, when these GOP right wing nuts move their mouths, they're lying.

David Cay Johnston writes at Tax.com: "The incomes of the top 400 American households soared to a new record high in dollars and as a share of all income in 2007, while the income tax rates they paid fell to a record low, newly disclosed tax data show.

"Since 1992, the bottom 90 percent of Americans have seen their incomes rise by 13 percent in 2009 dollars, compared with an increase of 399 percent for the top 400.

"The report shows that the number of the top 400 who paid an effective tax rate of 0 percent to 10 percent declined slightly, to 25 in 2007 from 31 in 2006. In 1992 only 6 of the top 400 paid an effective income tax rate of less than 10 percent.

"Another 127 paid 10 percent to 15 percent in 2007, up from 113 in 2006.

"Only 33 of the top 400 paid an effective tax rate of 30 percent to 35 percent, which is the maximum federal tax rate."

However, these unfair, low tax rates just don't seem to be enough for the wealthy few, tax evasion is still rampant among gazillionaire multinational corporations and banks.

Pat Garofalo at WonkRoom writes:

"According to a new report from Business and Investors Against Tax Haven Abuse, an organization backed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) that is seeking to end tax avoidance and evasion, multinational corporations and banks are ducking $37 billion annually in taxes:

Fifty years ago, corporate income taxes accounted for 23.2% of federal government receipts, and individual income tax payments were less than twice those of large corporations’ tax payments. Today, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimates corporate tax receipts will account for just 7.2% of federal revenues in 2010, with large corporations contributing less than one-sixth as much as small business and individual taxpayers to the Federal Treasury (small businesses most often pay taxes according to their owner’s individual tax rates).

"Eighty-three of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations and 63 of the 100 largest federal contractors have at least one subsidiary in a tax haven, the report says. Companies as different as Goldman Sachs, Safeway, and Liberty Mutual all share a common penchant for tax dodging. Such widespread avoidance simply shifts the tax burden onto law abiding individuals and businesses, who ultimately have to pay more to make up for the lost revenue.

"Of course, doing anything to crack down on tax evasion means incurring the wrath of the Chamber of Commerce and Big Business community, which continually fearmonger about the effect of taking such steps to ensure that companies pay the tax rate that is on the books." 

Such economic inequality and unfairness justly angers regular struggling Americans, those working for stagnant wages and those tens of millions unemployed.

The reality is that spineless government leadership needs to catch up to and keep pace with, not ignore and diss, the strong, grassroots people of this country.

As Jim Hightower writes: "Right-wing Republicans and corporate Democrats have become a pathetic bunch of 'No-can-do Nancys.'

"Faced with an economy reeling from the plutocratic policies that these same lawmakers pushed down upon us, they are now whimpering that America is too weak to meet the obvious needs of its own people. "We must surrender to the Gods of Economic Despair," they cry. At a time when history calls for our leaders to step forth with a bit of FDR boldness and rally grassroots people to rebuild our economy, they trumpet for retreat, giving up on America's historic ideal of the common good.

"A jobs program? 'Everyone for themselves,' they shout. Health care for all? 'Go to the emergency room,' they scream. Social Security? 'Socialism,' they screech, 'run away from it!'  Public education? 'Can't afford it,' they tell us, as they turn their backs on hundreds of thousands of teachers soon to be fired. Repair America's rotting infrastructure? 'Too big for us, ' they wail, 'leave it to the next generation.'

"Wagging teabags rather than picking up the tools of real recovery, the woeful voices of American failure insist that they speak for the People. Hogwash. Americans are a strong, community-minded, democratic-spirited, can-do people. Indeed, the latest Gallop poll shows that 60 percent of the public favors 'additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy.'

" 'But we must balance the budget,' whine the naysayers. Of course we should, and big majorities say we should do that by putting people to work, taxing the superrich to pay their fair share of Social Security and other public needs, as well as by slashing the $12 billion a month we're spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's time for our "leaders" to stop whining – and catch up to the people."

And it's time for voters to pick elected officials from among the people, not wealthy DINOs, but real 21st century New Deal Democrats.