He also has a chart showing the increasing share of national income taken by the wealthy. There is a direct connection between tax rates and inequality. The more rich folks can keep, the more they'll (I'll) take. Let's help motivate them (me) to share.
Redistribution of wealth. The only people that say that are ones who have wealth but did not earn it from their own efforts. Trust me, if you have to build wealth thru hard work you will not be so anxious to give it away.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite video of the year on redistribution is playing on YouTube interviewing college students about signing a petition to give away a portion of their GPA to students who might not graduate because their GPA is too low. Every time I hear one of those liberal, clueless idiots say, “No, I earned by GPA that would not be fair” I grin from ear to ear. Wonder how many of those morons who voted for Obama while they were in college will vote for him after they realize how much money comes out of their paycheck to pay for all the BS in DC?
Concerning your graph above you might want to point out that the top 1% pay 40% of the federal income tax. That is nearly double what they paid in 1980. The top 15% pay 75% of the federal income tax and the bottom 50% pay nothing. So who the hell cares about the graph? Top earners are still dragging along the leeches that are quick to bitch about rich folks ruining their lives by paying all the government’s bills.
What doesn't make sense to me is paying lower tax rates on unearned income like dividends and capital gains than on earned income. But that is exactly what the 2003 Bush tax cuts do. How about the percentage of total federal taxes paid by the wealthy as opposed to the rest of the population. Thanks to the social security tax increases after 1980, most people pay more in FICA than income tax.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that income already taxed once at the corporate level? Seems egregious to tax it again. I for one celebrate success. If the Romney's of the world can start with a little bit of nothing and grow it into a vast fortune more power to them. If I were to raise taxes I would nail people on legacy wealth. Generation after generation living on the sweat equity of their capitalist forefathers. Those folks are quick to try to part people with their money simply because they "have theirs" so its meaningless to them.
ReplyDeleteMuch dividend income does go to people on legacy wealth. Businesses pay out dividends when they don't have new growth initiatives to invest in. The fact that they pay out dividends in spite of the double taxation is some indication of that. Unfortunately, when the Bush tax cuts lowered the tax rate on dividends, many companies decided to increase their dividend payouts. As I see it, the dividend tax cut incentivized companies to pass over growth initiatives and to lay out valuable cash to shareholders instead.
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