And This is Why When I Hear President Obama Refer to President Reagan I Vomit

The Washington Post routinely does fact checking on statements by political figures on a scale of 1-4 Pinocchios. President Obama, in referring to his "Buffet Rule" which would push for a minimum tax for higher income earners regardless of the source, has referred to President Reagan, claiming he advocated for the same principles and he should be able to call it the "Reagan Rule". The Post rated that statement at two Pinocchios. I think they were being generous.

Let's be clear from the start, this is all about class warfare from the jump, a concept President Reagan would be revolted by. The Buffet Rule came about from the idea that somehow billionaire investor Warren Buffet paid less federal income tax than his secretary. She was even perched in the stands next to Michelle Obama during the State of the Union speech to further illustrate the President's false premise. What is correct is that Mr. Buffett pays a lower percentage rate on his income from investment. This is know as the Capital Gains Tax. Investment income is treated differently and taxed lower than regular income because we want to encourage investment in business. It should also be noted that the invested money was taxed when it was first earned as well.

When President Reagan was talking about tax fairness, he was talking about lowering rates for every American and removing exemptions to make a simpler tax system. President Reagan's version of the Buffett Rule would likely be to lower the secretary's tax rate to the same rate as capital gains. Almost everything Reagan stood for is the exact opposite of what President Obama advocates. Listening to him invoke Reagan is like listening to an atheist try to give a speech on the necessity for God in your life.