Senator Daniel Patrick Monahan once said that “You are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts.” With this in mind I would like to address a few of the untruths in Mae Thompson’s letter appearing in the June 04 issue of The Advocate-Messenger.

She states with total conviction that a high school teacher once told her that one-third of the people work to support the other two-thirds and she presents this opinion as a fact. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the labor force participation rate is currently 62.86% and it has been as high as 67.3% in Y2000 so her high school teacher had it exactly backwards. Two-thirds of the people work to support the one-third made up primarily of children and the elderly.

Ms. Thompson practically weeps over the plight of those earning $400,000 who may have to pay more taxes in the future. She also waxes eloquent lamenting the plight of the poor corporations that might see their tax rate restored to 28% from the current 21%. By the way, their statutory tax rate was 35% up until January of 2018 following the republicans 40% reduction in the Tax Act of 2017.

Does she realize that 55 major companies paid $0 in federal taxes on their 2020 profits? This number includes Archer Daniels Midland, Nike, FedEx, Dish Networks, and 50 other companies. In fact 84% of the tax cuts in the Republicans magnum opus tax act of 2017 went to corporations and the top 10% of income earners!

She claims, with no evidence, that any additional tax increases on corporations will be passed onto consumers. As a former corporate economist for a $5 billion multinational corporation I can tell you that companies look at a variety of factors when deciding whether or not to increase prices.

Corporate taxes are one factor but only one in the mix. Plus if you don’t pay taxes any how that ceases to be a factor.

Thompson castigates the Democrats but then admits that she is on Social Security. I expect that she is on Medicare as well. She has Democrats to thank for these two programs, which passed with few or no Republican votes.

She also references the pandemic stimulus checks which, given her rhetoric, one would have expected her to return to the treasury, but no – like all good Republicans – she banked the checks.

Jim & Linda Porter

Danville