Daily Archives: Sept. 19, 2012

GOP states have most people who don’t pay income taxes

Sept. 19, 201212:54 p.m.

Mitt Romney claimed that the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay any federal income taxes “will vote for President Obama no matter what.” But according to the Tax Foundation, eight of the top 10 states with the highest percentage of people who don’t pay federal income taxes are decidedly Republican. These include Texas and most of the South. The two others in the top 10 are Florida and New Mexico, which are swing states. Only three of the 10 states with the lowest percentage of people who don’t pay income taxes are Republican – Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming. Kansas has the 28th-highest percentage of filers with no tax liability, at 34 percent.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race, taxes | Comments Off

Public wants limits on PAC donations

Sept. 19, 20126:00 a.m.

More than 8 in 10 Americans want limits on the amount of money that corporations, unions and other groups can donate to political action committees to try to influence U.S. elections, according to a survey by Associated Press and the National Constitution Center. But as AP noted, such limits might require a constitutional amendment, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 Citizens United case that such spending is a protected form of political speech. More than 6 in 10 of those surveyed also favored giving same-sex couples the same government benefits as other married couples, and slightly more than half of Americans support legal recognition of gay marriage.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress, Gay marriage, Gay rights, U.S. politics | Comments Off