Someone forgot to tell Congressman Rob Woodall how the last election ended.
At a recent town hall meeting the Georgia Congressman complained that many Americans don't care about our country because they are getting a free ride. It's time for every American to pay taxes, he said.
If this sounds familiar, it's because this is the same argument Mitt Romney made before losing the Presidential election.
"You know, folks mock Mitt Romney for what he said, but he's right," Rep. Woodall told the crowd. "Forty-seven percent of American citizens pay zero in income taxes. It's just true."
"I don't care if you're paying a dollar. You need to believe that you are involved in the process, and you need to have skin in the game," Rep. Woodall told the crowd.
But wait just a minute.
When Rep. Woodall talks about 47 percent of Americans who don't pay income tax, he's talking directly to seniors, who make up 22 percent of those who don't pay income tax1.
Our seniors have worked hard and contributed plenty to our nation. Seniors have skin in the game.
And about two-thirds of Rep. Woodall's 47 percent contribute payroll taxes because they work2. Most of them will also pay state income taxes or sales taxes.
Just 7 percent of the country is non-elderly with no federal tax liability, and most of them make less than $20,0003.
Our working families have skin in the game.
And most people who Rep. Woodall describes as moochers live in the South, including Georgia4.
Southerners have plenty of skin in the game.
But guess who doesn't have skin in the game?
Some corporations, like GE5, have recently paid zero federal income tax. Corporations depend on our roads and schools but lobby for loopholes to avoid paying taxes.
Rep. Woodall has made it clear that he doesn't support making corporations pay any more taxes than they already do. So his "skin-in-the-game" theory only goes so far.
Middle-class Americans are already doing their part; corporations are not.
On tax day, tell Congress that corporations should start paying their fair share.
And then join progressives around the nation today and tell the world that you have plenty of skin in the game. Use the Twitter hash tag #proudtopay to talk about your investment in our nation.
Sincerely,  Executive Director Better Georgia 
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