As reported by the Associated Press on Sept. 18, 2008 (“Biden calls paying higher taxes a patriotic act”) then-candidate Joe Biden, advocating for the Obama tax increase plan, said:
“It's time to be patriotic … time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”
At the time, the Obama-Biden ticket was running on a plan to raise the top two marginal income tax rates from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent, respectively. According to IRS data, the majority of small employer profits face taxation at these marginal tax rates.
As noted by Samuel Johnson, appeals to false patriotism are “the last refuge of a scoundrel.”