For this week’s entertainment, some polling results from Gallup. They cleverly released them on the day when our tax filings were due.

The poll results are more than entertaining. They are laughable.

Gallup polled thousands of taxpayers. It found that half of us feel the federal income taxes we pay are too high. Okay. It found that almost half of us feel the taxes we pay Washington are about right. Okay.

That is a nice statistical divide. Gallup drew a few conclusions about it. Various writers did the same. They pontificated about how those who set our tax rates must have them at just about the right level. After all, we the people are about 50-50 on the question. Therefore and to wit …

All these people must know that half of us do not pay federal income taxes. Half of us. We may pay them during the year. But, oh boy, we get refunds. The refunds equal all we pay in taxes. Or the refund checks are larger than what we paid. Because we are a welfare state to many. Bottom line is, there is nothing under the bottom line. Half of us pay no federal income tax. (We are not talking about Social Security taxes. The poll was about federal income taxes.)

I checked to see how much money the people they polled earned. Half of them earned less than $50,000 per year. Those are mostly folks who pay virtually no federal income taxes.

Let me ask a few questions that Gallup and the pundits might find embarrassing. Half of us pay no federal income tax. So how do you suppose those who pay nothing might feel about the federal tax rates?  How many of them are likely to say they are about right?  What do I feel about bus fares? As a senior citizen who rides for free, I figure they are just about right.

I dug ever deeper in my highly scientific studies. I looked over more of the Gallup data. Turns out that those who make little, are more happy with the tax rates they face.  Why, of course. They don’t pay income taxes. Those who make more, are less happy. Why, of course. They pay virtually all our income taxes.