Hullabaloo

Misinformation And Its Discontents
by tristero

Here's a Republican misinformation talking point that, in the hands of Bloomberg News, goes transparently awry:

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, earned $2.73 million last year and paid $855,323 in federal taxes, an amount that would be higher by about $102,000 if his budget plan were in effect.

But the article also reports Biden's income and taxes:

The administration also released the tax return filed by Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. It shows they paid $46,952 in federal taxes for 2008 on $269,256 in adjusted gross income. They also paid $1,827 in alternative minimum tax, a levy the Obamas avoided because their income was too high. The Bidens paid $11,164 in Delaware state income tax.

You notice something?

Ok. We learn that the Obamas' taxes will rise, But for some strange reason, no one at Bloomberg bothered to calculate what the Bidens - who reported a low, but nevertheless quite comfortable, six-figure income last year - would pay in taxes if Obama's budget plan goes into effect.

There's a good reason for that omission. The article implies, or if you prefer, insinuates:

Because Obama's own taxes will rise under his plan, and because politicians never act against their own interests, therefore everyone's taxes will rise.

Now, that screwy logic would be contradicted if they reported that Biden's tax rate wouldn't return to pre-Bush levels - which, of course, is precisely the case (see the third comment to this post, from Brian J, for example ), and which the article leaves for readers to work out for themselves.