Incomes of the Rich and Gilded

pal_of_poor

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Aug 14, 2009
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Income Shares: Rich get a Bigger Slice
This chart represents the share of income going to the bottom 90 percent of Americans shrinking between 1970 and 2000. Among the top 10 percent, the higher a person ranked the more one’s slice of the economic pie grew. The changes are from 1970 to 2000.

Bottom 90% (incomes) shrunk from 67.1% in 1970 to 52% in 2000.

Decrease of 22.5%
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From 90-95 incomes gained only slightly from 11.1 to 11.1 which was

Positive change of 0.4%

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From 95-99% 12.7% to 15.2%

This represents a positive 19.5% change
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99. to 99.5% from 2.8 to 4.1%

Increase of 47.0%
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99.5% to 99.9%, 3.5% to 6.6%

Increase of 90%
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99.9 to 99.99%, increased from 1.8% to 5.9%

A whopping 412% increase in incomes.
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Perfectly Legal, by David Cay Johnston, p.33

As this trend goes, so will the death of our democracy. As I said, when you look at this kind of thing, all having to do with how our politicians have manipulated things since 1970, politicians on both sides representing mostly the rich, giving them tax breaks while all of us have to endure higher taxes on sales, gas, more fees on utilities, and higher very regressive social security taxes, you have to wonder how long it will take for us to implode from within.

Another unfortunate consequence from money being concentrated in this manner is that those who want to try and climb the social ladder, and start a business are increasingly hampered, as the majority of us who will be customers fall further and further behind, being able to buy less and less. As taxes are cut for the richest, with income, inheritance, and capital gains cuts, the rest of us will have to endure ever higher increases to make up for the money given to the richest. Anytime you hear of a cut to the top two percent, which were the majority of Bush’s cuts, you will know that eventually these taxes will fall back on top of you.

This trend, if it continues, will crush the economic life out of America. These figures are correct up to 2000, and the trend has continued, the gaps even more extreme now, after nearly eight years of Bush giving tax cuts to the richest, from money borrowed from China, Saudi Arabia, and China.

Even conservative pundit Ben Stein likes to say, we can tax that top group way more than we do.
 
The rich ALSO pay for higher taxes on goods and services.
The rich ALSO pay themajority of the national tax revenue
The rich income INCLUDES income made on investments
The analyisis is completely disingenuous.

Oh yeah...and on the most part, the rich are the ones that employ the others...

But please...continue to blast those that pay for government spending, stuimulus packages, unemployment insurance, healthcare for many, car for clunkers programs, etc etc etc.
 
Oh yeah...and on the most part, the rich are the ones that employ the others...
I would like to see a thread on USMB about posters that are employed by the poor or homeless.

How about a threwad reminding the people that it is not "government" that is paying for CARS and stimulus and welfare and medicaid and other progrmas.....it is the rich that pay their taxes that is pating for it.

But instead, as this thread shows.....we are the bad guys.
 
The rich ALSO pay for higher taxes on goods and services.
The rich ALSO pay themajority of the national tax revenue
The rich income INCLUDES income made on investments
The analyisis is completely disingenuous.

As soon as that report from the Swiss banks is made available to the public, we shall be able to check your assertions.
 
Oh yeah...and on the most part, the rich are the ones that employ the others...
I would like to see a thread on USMB about posters that are employed by the poor or homeless.

And I'd like to see a thread about how the wealthy got wealthy got wealthy without the help of others.

And what exactly does that mean?

Sure the wealthy got help...and they paid those people for their help. Those people opted NOT to go it on their own and preferred someone else have the headaches.

And the issue with this is exactly what?
 
America has undergone a redistribution of wealth. For the most part, the rich deserve to be rich. They have either made the right moves or inherited from someone who has.
As the OP states however, the super rich have manipulated the playing field so that they are able to monopolize more of the available wealth. It is not because they work harder than previous wealthy Americans, but because they have manipulated the tax codes and instilled restrictions on the working class that allows them to prosper while the standard of living for working Americans has declined.

I do not oppose the wealthy being wealthy, but would like to see the wealth distribution in this country return to former levels
 
ahhhhhhhh.....vilification of those that pursued the american dream and achieved success.....

Yes...welcome to my life.

I paid some recent college grad in may 2008, 38K to start...a bit above market in my area......and in October 2008, she ripped into me when I gave her a raise to 42K and called me greedy and cheap.

Her hours were 9-5:30...she rarely had to work past 5:30....but she was good and although paid aboive market, I gave her a raise after 5 months to show my appreciation.
She also had 100% paid healthcare...and would have been eligible for 410(k) participation after 1 year...and yes...I match up to 4% of income.

I fired her ass. ANd she is now unemployed and collecting on my dime.....

I wonder where she came up with the word "greedy"?

Funny...that was a popular word back in October.
 
America has undergone a redistribution of wealth. For the most part, the rich deserve to be rich. They have either made the right moves or inherited from someone who has.
As the OP states however, the super rich have manipulated the playing field so that they are able to monopolize more of the available wealth. It is not because they work harder than previous wealthy Americans, but because they have manipulated the tax codes and instilled restrictions on the working class that allows them to prosper while the standard of living for working Americans has declined.

I do not oppose the wealthy being wealthy, but would like to see the wealth distribution in this country return to former levels

It will not happen until the American work ethic returns to where it was...and that wont happen if we continue to make it easy for them.

Try to recruit people from Michigan for jobs in NY. I did. They wont do it. They have entitlements that actually make it a dumb move to leave the state for employment. They lose nmortgage assistance, they lose extended unemployment for GOOD...even if the new job does NOT work out....

You need drive to acheive success. We are leaning in a direction where you are better off with the status quo.
 
The rich ALSO pay for higher taxes on goods and services.
The rich ALSO pay themajority of the national tax revenue
The rich income INCLUDES income made on investments
The analyisis is completely disingenuous.

As soon as that report from the Swiss banks is made available to the public, we shall be able to check your assertions.

well lets see......they money that is in the swiss accounts if initially made in america was taxed at that time and ameica got its cut and spent it on foreign militay bases and froeign aid... but i digress......then the remaining money was invested in a bank in another country.....does the us have the right to tax money sitting in a bank in another country.....
 
The rich ALSO pay for higher taxes on goods and services.
The rich ALSO pay themajority of the national tax revenue
The rich income INCLUDES income made on investments
The analyisis is completely disingenuous.

As soon as that report from the Swiss banks is made available to the public, we shall be able to check your assertions.

well lets see......they money that is in the swiss accounts if initially made in america was taxed at that time and ameica got its cut and spent it on foreign militay bases and froeign aid... but i digress......then the remaining money was invested in a bank in another country.....does the us have the right to tax money sitting in a bank in another country.....

Back in the 70's and 80's, people were able to launder untaxed money to swiss accounts.

Now. with computerized records...it is not nearly as easy to do.
 
As soon as that report from the Swiss banks is made available to the public, we shall be able to check your assertions.

well lets see......they money that is in the swiss accounts if initially made in america was taxed at that time and ameica got its cut and spent it on foreign militay bases and froeign aid... but i digress......then the remaining money was invested in a bank in another country.....does the us have the right to tax money sitting in a bank in another country.....

Back in the 70's and 80's, people were able to launder untaxed money to swiss accounts.

Now. with computerized records...it is not nearly as easy to do.

criminals are the only people i know that can get a paycheck untaxed.....

but if i get a bonus of say 100k which between the state feds and others ...i will end up with around 60k.....if i want to put that in a swiss account.....where the swiss will "tax" it one day.....and leave it there till i retire to switzerland....why should the us be allowed to know anything about it....they already got their cut and blew it on a parade for unwed mothers........
 
Remember the top 10% of the wealthy pay 90% of the tax revenue the government receives.

Tax Statistics - Produced by the Statistics of Income Division and Other Areas of the Internal Revenue Service

When you claim 90% of the available income, you pay 90% of the taxes.
Not too hard to figure. And we should be THANKING the wealthy for this?

No we should just make sure we know the facts.

The top 10% earning 90% of the income and paying 90% of the taxes would sound totally fair to me.

Read article 8 of the US constitution, it says the taxes shall be uniform.
 
Remember the top 10% of the wealthy pay 90% of the tax revenue the government receives.

Tax Statistics - Produced by the Statistics of Income Division and Other Areas of the Internal Revenue Service

When you claim 90% of the available income, you pay 90% of the taxes.
Not too hard to figure. And we should be THANKING the wealthy for this?

No we should just make sure we know the facts.

The top 10% earning 90% of the income and paying 90% of the taxes would sound totally fair to me.

Read article 8 of the US constitution, it says the taxes shall be uniform.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

It says taxes shall be uniform throughout the United States, not uniform between taxpayers
 
The government damn well should tax the daylights out of the rich!

Capitalism has degenerated into nothing but legal thievery. The rich DO NOT earn 1% of the money that they get. Sure they've made the 'right' moves - if you call stealing a 'right move'.

The fact is that the working people of this country have had no effective representation on government for the past 30 years. The capitalist system is nothing but the economically advantaged taking advantage of the economically disadvantaged.

Wealth is created by WORK. Those in positions of financial power control everything and insure that they recieve astronomically more than they deserve, while the workers that create the wealth are ripped off second by second.

So the governement SHOULD play Robin Hood with the wealthy and the wealthy ought to be thankful that the workers have fallen for their bull$hit for so long. Cause once the American workers wake up and figure out how the capitalist system really works - they're gonna socialize your a$$.
 
Remember the top 10% of the wealthy pay 90% of the tax revenue the government receives.

Tax Statistics - Produced by the Statistics of Income Division and Other Areas of the Internal Revenue Service

When you claim 90% of the available income, you pay 90% of the taxes.
Not too hard to figure. And we should be THANKING the wealthy for this?

Do you claim 90% of your available income? What percentage of your gross is your AGI?
 

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