Why didnt we have this disparity from the 40's through the 70's?
There are two eras here. The 40's and 50's are dealing with post war industrial booms and expanded workforce because women were finding their place. Consumer demand was high based on war bond savings as well, plus the new technology from the war put to civilian use. This caused a run of prosperity, not SOCIAL PROGRAMS or wealth redistribution. If any social program helped it was WAR BONDS being paid out.
Then we fucked the lot with social insanity of the 1960's and 70's with social spending to 'help the poor'. Compassion overwhelmed our good sense because we had so much money to spend and be charitable with. But we mistook the job of government to include charity, which it can never be used for safely because someone will always find a way ( and 50 years of this abuse have proven this to be true) to equate compassion for need and use the force of government to make sure THEIR compassion is inflicted on those who disagree. This is not charity, because charity involves willful giving, not taxation and force.
You assume that 'everyone agreed' they WERE 'fair'. Secondly, other than say, Social Security, most of the rest of the social safety hammock did not exist. No Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, School Lunch and DOZENS of redundant welfare programs for individuals and corporations did not exist. But we also had a very regressive tax rate cumulative over 80% when consumption, income and state taxes are included.
You know, I'd be interested in reverting almost all our government policies back to sayyyyy.... 1951, when the Dept of Transportation was created by Ike and eliminate ALL the rest created after that, especially HHS, Ed, Energy, HUD, DHS and others. I think this would be an interesting tradeoff.
I've yet to see ANY liberal want to reverse on Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare or any other social spending programs. I'd LOVE to see that level of sanity from a liberal. But alas, what do they want to cut? Military. I can't conceive of any other program they want to cut.
Sure? Maybe we do the original levels when the Income Tax came into being: 1% on millionaires. I've never seen a liberal promote such things.
Yes, liberalism is.