PoliticalChic
Diamond Member
Just a few considerations beyond the usual political claims about what may or may not be a problem, a crisis...an emergency that government must deal with.....
1. The much bemoaned 'income inequality' is really an interesting phenomenon....
Let's look at some facts.
According to the Michael Medved Radio Show, (12/18/2013):
the middle 20% of earners- below the top 40% and above the bottom 40%- earned 15% of the nation's income in 1947.
In 1979, the middle 20% earned 16% of said income.
But in 2013, the same statistical group earned........14%.
What does that say about the 'growing income inequality'?
2. CNBC had an interesting title to an analysis...."The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes."
The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes
3. ... the top 40 percent of wage earners in America pay 106 percent of the taxes. The bottom 40 percent...pay negative 9 percent.... The numbers are based on 2010 IRS and Census Bureau figures.
4. ... the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans saw before-tax income grow more than 16 percent from 2009 to 2010, which isn't such a surprise since thestock market was coming off the bottom. Most of the rest of the country only saw gross incomes grow about 1 percent.
5. When it comes to federal taxes,the top bracket paid 69 percent of the total last year. The bottom bracket paid 0.4 percent.
6. "For most income groups, average federal tax rates in 2010 were near the lowest rates for the 1979-2010 period," reads the report. "The exception was households in the top 1 percent,whose average federal tax rate in 2010 was significantly above its low in the mid-1980s."
7. The CBO said that since 2010, new taxes have been added which will raise rates for everyone, with the biggest increase hitting the 1-percenters.
8. ...the greatest disparity in the report is the one mentioned above, regarding the share of individual income taxes paid by various income groups.
9. The report shows the lowest-paid Americans earned on average $8,100 in 2010 but received nearly $25,000 in government aid. You begin to see how "transfers" create a negative tax burden.
10. ... about a quarter of the lowest earning group actually paid negative 15 percent of all individual income taxes. Contrast that with the combined share of the wealthiest two groups, which totals more than 100 percent."
There doesn't seem to be an aspect of illegality in the earnings of the highest income group...
...is there any real argument that the wealthiest are 'stealing' their wealth from the lowest earners? Often, that is implied.....
How about consequences of one's actions, and life decisions?
And....what is the role that 'envy' plays in the discussion of 'income inequality'?
1. The much bemoaned 'income inequality' is really an interesting phenomenon....
Let's look at some facts.
According to the Michael Medved Radio Show, (12/18/2013):
the middle 20% of earners- below the top 40% and above the bottom 40%- earned 15% of the nation's income in 1947.
In 1979, the middle 20% earned 16% of said income.
But in 2013, the same statistical group earned........14%.
What does that say about the 'growing income inequality'?
2. CNBC had an interesting title to an analysis...."The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes."
The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes
3. ... the top 40 percent of wage earners in America pay 106 percent of the taxes. The bottom 40 percent...pay negative 9 percent.... The numbers are based on 2010 IRS and Census Bureau figures.
4. ... the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans saw before-tax income grow more than 16 percent from 2009 to 2010, which isn't such a surprise since thestock market was coming off the bottom. Most of the rest of the country only saw gross incomes grow about 1 percent.
5. When it comes to federal taxes,the top bracket paid 69 percent of the total last year. The bottom bracket paid 0.4 percent.
6. "For most income groups, average federal tax rates in 2010 were near the lowest rates for the 1979-2010 period," reads the report. "The exception was households in the top 1 percent,whose average federal tax rate in 2010 was significantly above its low in the mid-1980s."
7. The CBO said that since 2010, new taxes have been added which will raise rates for everyone, with the biggest increase hitting the 1-percenters.
8. ...the greatest disparity in the report is the one mentioned above, regarding the share of individual income taxes paid by various income groups.
9. The report shows the lowest-paid Americans earned on average $8,100 in 2010 but received nearly $25,000 in government aid. You begin to see how "transfers" create a negative tax burden.
10. ... about a quarter of the lowest earning group actually paid negative 15 percent of all individual income taxes. Contrast that with the combined share of the wealthiest two groups, which totals more than 100 percent."
There doesn't seem to be an aspect of illegality in the earnings of the highest income group...
...is there any real argument that the wealthiest are 'stealing' their wealth from the lowest earners? Often, that is implied.....
How about consequences of one's actions, and life decisions?
And....what is the role that 'envy' plays in the discussion of 'income inequality'?