Obama has done a poor job of describing his tax plan

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

I don't know why Democrats always do this.

There should be no ambiguity. Pretty much everyone worried about their federal taxes has filed federal taxes, so talk to them as serious people.

"Making" and "earning" are not useful terms. Even the Obama tax calculator asks how much you make or earn, which are vague, meaningless terms. The average person knows what she "makes" as her total salary. That is not what is taxed, however.

Taxable income is ALWAYS less than you "make," even if only by the amount of the standard deduction.

Direct people to go to line 40 on their last years 1040 labeled TAXABLE INCOME

If that line is less than $200K your taxes will be LOWER

(Also, the tax rate only goes up on the amount OVER $250K. If you make $260K you pay the extra 2% on only $10,000. Nobody's entire income gets kicked into a higher bracket if they cross a thresh-hold.)

__________________

On Edit: Having read the self-satisfied snarky replies here I have a question for the geniuses... If Obama is presenting his tax plan so well why does 48% of the US population who will get a tax cut believe their taxes will go up? Taxes go up on only 5%. At least 53% say Obama will raise their taxes.

Efficacy of communication is an empirical, testable thing, not a Rorschach of one's loyalty to Senator Obama.

If mis-comprehension by half the country is anyone's idea of an effectively communicated plan, God help us all.

[Every Man A King]

1. yea cause people are always walking around

with last years 1040 right?

95% of families will get a cut... its alot simpler than what you have just posted.

[knixphan]

32. lol - gotta agree.

[Uzybone]

2. That is even more confsing

you don't ever hear Republicans to tell people to get their IRS forms and calculate. 95% of families will get a tax cut is simple enough for the average Joe.

[msallied]

3. Unless that average "Joe" happens to be a plumber.

Sorry, couldn't help myself. lol

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

7. The average Joe believes he is put upon and assumes he will be in the 5%

[madmax]

4. Joe the Plumber

and Joe Six Pack have the attention span of a gnat. Therefore, Obama keeps it simple.

[SunsetDreams]

5. I disagree, that is all.

[sharp_stick]

6. Ambiguity?

He says "if you make less than 200k your taxes will be lower."

That doesn't sound anywhere near as ambiguous as "If I could direct you to line 40 on last years tax return.... I'll wait while you go get it... :play hold music:... OK now if that line is less than 200k you will have lower taxes". ;-)

[Drunken Irishman]

8. Yes, that's a way to win an election.

"Ok, folks, if you don't have it, go look for your 1040 form. I'll wait while you search for it."

"Alright. Do you all have your 1040 form? I hope you do. Now go to line 40 labled TAXABLE INCOME. Find it? Good. If that line right there says less than 200,000, your taxes will be lowered. Sound good? Good. Now go find your IRA and bank statements. I'll wait..."

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. BS....he's made it VERY plain.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

10. A full half of the contry doesn't get it

So your idea of "VERY plain" is useless

[Malikshah]

19. Hmmm.

Just...hmmm.

[OwnedByFerrets]

30. No, it would just mean that your "half" of the country is

either stupid or is willful in NOT getting it.

[Overseas]

11. Actually it is the opposition's disinformation that is clouding the issue.

Republicans have been pushing the falsehood that any and all money a business has over $250K would be taxed heavily.

That falsehood has been widely spread, echoed and amplified.

The other falsehood, that small businesses would be fined for not insuring their employees, has also been widely disseminated.

Those falsehoods then become twisted and exaggerated further and the net effect is to confuse those issues.

They're hoping to return to the antique Republican slur that Democrats want to take all your money and give it to lazy people who don't work.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Effective communication is defined in terms of comprehension

It is absurd to say someone has done a good job of communicating something if half the country doesn't understand it.

Disinformation is a reason, not an excuse.

[Overseas]

26. Disinformation is powerful, given a consolidated Republican owned media.

The disinformation gets far more play on broadcast media.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. The tax code is one giant ambiguity.

Short of pitching a ridiculous flat-tax proposal, there is no way possible to talk taxes without ambiguity.

[donco6]

13. Well, half the country thinks Palin is great.

And how much more communication can we get about THAT?

[earth mom]

14. What's confusing about 250K or less? WTF? Your post makes absolutely NO sense!

:wtf:

p.s. The reason 48% of the population thinks their taxes will go up is because the fucking rethugs on Faux news & MSNBC & CNN told them so.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Barack_America]

17. There's very little he can do to change their minds...

McCain and the GOP are trying very hard to make people believe that Obama will raise taxes, no matter what he says. That he's not trustworthy on taxes, blah blah blah.

[Dems4me]

18. I think he does need to hammer it home (more ads maybe) to the small business people. n/t.

[BeyondGeography]

20. I agree he could do better, but those are very good numbers for a D on the tax issue

The Republicans have owned this discussion for 30 years and a fair amount of brainwashing has resulted; you need to include that part in your analysis.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Thanks for your concern.

I'm sure the guy who's been campaigning for two years now, and is an infinitely better speaker than you'll ever be, and is crushing his opponent in the polls would really appreciate your advice on discussing tax forms.

[WallStreetNobody]

22. I think he's tried to make it simple than most Dems do.

The problem is even if you are going to cut taxes a lot on 99.99% of Americans and raise them a little on the top 0.01% who make hundreds of millions of dollars the Republicans will run around screaming "they're increasing taxes, they're increasing taxes!". So Republicans will cut taxes huge on the top few percent and throw a few crumbs to the masses so they can say "we're cutting taxes". That is why the argument gets so muddled, a lot of people can't comprehend the fact that they are not in the top few percent, they buy into Limbaugh's "slippery slope" nonsense which is exactly the talking point Joe the Dipshit recited.

[slick8790]

23. There's a difference between mis-comprehension and intentional disbelief.

There are many, many people who through years of conditioning believe that democrats will raise your taxes and there is absolute no amount of facts or figures which will sway them. That is the flaw of your argument. You can't convince people who don't respond to facts or information, or especially those who don't want to be convinced.

[4themind]

24. Delete-nt

[TheKentuckian]

25. What's not to understand?

If you make 250k and under there will be no increase and if you make 200k and under you'll pay less.

Joe's comprehension problem is based on greed on resources he doesn't and may never have and fueled by listening to Reich Wing distortions.

10% of people believe the freakin' world is flat and I think a pretty clear case has been made over the past several hundred years to negate that. Most people do not think in terms of line 40 and I'd bet focus groups show an even larger level of confusion on this if you try to elaborate in this way. Many if not most have their taxes prepared, even those who don't itemize. Taxes confuse many people and a great many stress themselves silly over them because the lines and forms make their heads swim.

The 53% are very much compromised by 30+ years of "tax and spend Democrats" rhetoric. This will not be changed overnight.

I'm far from saying you are presenting misinformation but it seems their is a level of frustration over an issue that Obama is just literally trying to make simple and soundbite worthy. Your explanation is only effective to people speaking the same language as you. The millions going to H&R Block, the even more where one person in the house does them and the other oblivious, and the people that use software don't know this stuff in a nuts and bolts way.

At this point, I guess Obama could or even SHOULD clarify the way you did but the simplest message is usually the best one. I think the gap is one of Democratic credibility rather than the explanation, if that makes sense.

[ContinentalOp]

27. Yeah, I guess it is confusing...

... if you make around $250... 70... 80k like Joe the Plumber. :eyes:

[DangerDave921]

28. Why believe taxes will go up?

There are a few reasons why people may believe their taxes will go up:

1. A politician is talking here. Bill Clinton ran on lowering taxes. Then he raised them. Bush I ran on "no new taxes" then went back on his word. So it is perfectly reasonable to not quite believe it when a politician promises lower taxes. Just because a politician promises something when running for office does not make it so.

2. Obama is proposing nearly $1 trillion dollars in new spending. Some may wonder how he's going to pay for that without raising taxes.

3. The awful economy. That alone may require an adjustment in the tax cut proposal.

4. If something is too good to be true, one should be suspicious.

[elkston]

29. Stuff like that needs to be in the detailed documents, but its too complicated for a stump speech

Maybe he'll go into metticulous detail in that 30 minute ad buy.

Still, your negativity is not welcome.

[PermanentRevolution]

31. All due respect, I think you're mistaken about something...

Your OP makes the assumption that the problem lies in the proper communication of Obama's tax plan - that if the plan were explained in a "better" way, then voter reaction would correspondingly improve. I submit that this isn't actually the case.

The issue, as I see it, is not whether the population understands the message; the issue is whether the population BELIEVES it. For countless years, Democrats have been portrayed as the party of higher taxes, so much so that it has become a widely accepted societal belief. It doesn't matter how clearly Obama presents his message if people simply don't accept that he's telling the truth about it. And he can say "I'm not lying" all he wants, but when you're dealing with an almost instinctive widespread association like "Democrats=High Taxes," then it's not going to make any difference. All it'll get you is a reaction of "Well, of COURSE he's gonna SAY that, but it's not true."

This isn't the kind of mindset that will be changed through talk, since people are generally predisposed to view politicians as liars. It will take Obama's election and subsequent enaction of his tax policy to even BEGIN to break down that long-standing mental conditioning, and even then, when Obama's tax policy is concrete law, I'm sure there will STILL be a sizable portion of the population that refute reality itself and maintain that Obama raised their taxes, just as there are still those who believe that Iraq was behind 9/11. Such is the power of cognitive dissonance.

[anigbrowl]

33. One possible explanation

is that people understand what Obama's promises are, but think that what will actually happen in practice will be an increase in their taxes. In other words, they assume that how things actually turn out won't be as rosy as what's promised on the campaign trail. I'm not losing too much sleep over it.

[goletian]

34. uh, because the other side lies about obamas plans... surely youre not this naive.

obama could say hes cutting everyone a check for double whatever taxes they pay, and mean it literally. the other side would still spin and/or lie forever.

[SoonerPride]

35. Because people watch Fox news and/or are stupid?

Obama has been CRYSTAL CLEAR on how his plan works and for whom it will save money.

That doesn't mean you can cut through the clutter of lies and misinformation fo the press and the GOP LIARS.