Forum Post: Am I the 53%?

I want to argue against the 53% perspective that paying federal income tax is a requisite for protest.

I am a 47-yr old married father of two. I have a graduate degree and worked my way through college, assuming less than $10,000 in debt (which I paid off in two years). I have worked and paid taxes since I was 14 years old. In 2007, I earned $120,000 and paid approximately $30,000 in taxes. In years prior, I earned less, but the proportion was similar.

Then came the recession... In 2008, I was laid off by my Fortune 100 employer of nine years (despite layoffs, my employer could afford to pay our CEO $42.8 million). I spent the next two years looking for work. During, I worked every job I could find (including at a car wash, fast food, you name it - often earning less than $10 per hour) and I was happy and willing to do the work if it fed my family. In addition, we cut back like crazy and exhausted every financial resource we had built up over 20 years (which had lost over 30% of their value) in order to continue meeting our obligations. We placed our home up for sale but its value had decreased by over 50% and we were underwater on our mortgage (our property taxes increased by 20% in 2009). In the 18 months our home was for sale, we received only two "short sale" offers, both of which were rejected by Bank of America. In the end, we fell behind on our mortgage and, at three months delinquent, Bank of America started foreclosure. I spent over a year trying to restructure our loan through the numerous taxpayer-funded (my taxes) programs offered by the federal government. B of A frustrated these efforts at every turn. Lost paperwork, errors in our loan account, endless shuffling from one department to another, mail sent to the wrong address - the list is incessant. I finally realized that I was up against something I could not beat, and, since we could not afford the attorney needed, we walked away. Our family lost. And I take responsibility for my part.

Finally, in late 2010, I thankfully found a full time job in another state earning less than 60% of my previous salary for the same position I held before - in another Fortune listed company (whose CEO earns $18 million). Between that and two part-time contract jobs, our family earned $48,000 last year. From that amount, I various taxes totaling about 12% but, because of various deductions, did not have to pay federal income tax.

Now, here's my point, you arrogant ideologues who call yourself the 53%... I assume my voice deserved to be heard when I paid income tax, so just when did it lose its value? Was it when I chose to feed my family rather than pay a mortgage to a bank that was screwing me at every turn - against an asset that plummeted in value due to that same bank's rampant speculation? Or, was it when I took the deductions the law allowed me and was exempted from income tax? And, look in the mirror and try to tell yourself that you are not just a few paychecks away from the same fate yourself.

And, what now that I am working again, and paying the income tax the 53% seems to think qualifies my voice to be heard. What of my voice now? Is it now relevant?

I support Occupy Wall Street because I believe America can be better. Better than this unholy collusion that exists between politicians and big money, better than a system that allows 1 of 5 American children to live in poverty, better than a system that cries out for educated workers and then rewards corporations for moving jobs overseas. Better than a system that allows a corporate CEO to earn 400 times that of his workers, while running his company in the ground and then turning to those same taxpayers for a handout. I support Occupy Wall Street because I believe in civil protest. Because I have children and I will not quietly relinquish them to a corrupt system.

And, because I am angry as hell. You fuckers keep on drumming...