Sen. Southerland Talks Taxes, Gets Burned

A local rally for the McCain/Palin ticket in Greeneville last week is getting attention due to comments from GOP State Senator Steve Southerland and his take on the economy. ACK picked up the report of the rally in the Greeneville Sun, and commenters on ACK's post are blistering the senator.

"Three words: What … an … idiot."

What has readers riled up? Comments like these from Sen. Southerland, who works as a mortgage broker:

"If, for example, he said, Obama raises the taxes on Therese Heinz Kerry, wife of U.S. Sen. John Kerry and a major owner of Heinz products, she would be likely to raise the price of Heinz ketchup, which in turn could cause McDonald’s to raise the price of a hamburger that includes ketchup.

In that way, and many other ways, “It will hurt the average person” if the taxes on the upper 5 percent are raised, Southerland said."

Um. What?

Is that somehow supposed to link Kerry with Obama, or Obama with the Ketchup Lobbyists? Since the Senator isn't in an election cycle, he isn't going to get much press these days.

Here's what I take from the Republican Senator's views: it sounds like a threat to me to say if you increase taxes on the top earners, they will punish every other taxpayer. If all tax costs (and any increases) on the top 5% of income-earners are ALWAYS passed on to the other 95% of taxpayers via higher prices paid for goods and services, then the top never, ever carries their weight and expects the poorer folks to do it for them.