CNN's resident shitkicker extraordinaire, policy genius, and member of the Worst Political Team on Television™, Erick Erickson, has come up with what is being billed as an "alternative" to the 99 percent movement which he has dubbed "the 53 percent."
Right-wing blogger Erick Erickson has started a “We Are The 53 Percent” Tumblr as a conservative alternative to Occupy Wall Street, referencing the 53% of Americans who pay federal income tax, ostensibly in contrast to the protesters who do not.
Erickson reportedly worked with Josh Trevino, of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, and conservative filmmaker Mike Wilson to launch the site.
53% refers to a statistic that 47% of Americans don’t pay income tax, which has become a popular conservative talking point.
Even though it has been repeated dozens of times, it's worth repeating again -- the idea that half of the country pays no taxes is inaccurate and dangerously misleading.
While there is a segment of the population that does not pay income taxes because they are either unemployed or do not generate enough income to be taxed, they are still paying a multitude of other taxes such as property tax, vehicle tax, city tax, school tax, and sales tax.
And if you're really worried about people not paying taxes, why not support legislation that will generate well-paying jobs, enabling more people to pay? I guess that would just be socialism. Or something.
If only shitkickers like Erick Erickson expressed as deep of a concern for multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporations paying no taxes.