Do YOU understand how tax brackets work???

Note: This is a repost of a diary of mine from about a year and a half ago; I was inspired to repost it by Jed's current diary, Prospect of earning more than $250,000 terrifies business owner, because Obama.

Basically, a HUGE part of the problem with trying to have any rational discussion about tax policy is that there's a huge number of people who don't have a basic understanding of what "marginal tax rates" are. 

To put it simply, there's a whole lot of people out there, including some who are very intelligent and/or successful professional types, who believe that if their income nudges them over into the next-higher tax bracket by even $1.00, that this somehow means that the entire amount they owe in taxes goes up to that percentage. READ MORE