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I don't think taxation solves the problem. The real problem is that the top earners are getting most of the new income generated and have been since the 1970s.
Nope.
The 25% lowest-paid Americans enjoyed a 4.5% income boost
That outpaced a 2.9% gain in earnings for the country's highest-paid workers
Now...let’s compromise, people! First, let’s accept that the wealthy pay the majority of federal income taxes, and about half of Americans pay nothing. With that in mind, what about this first step:
1) Raise the top bracket (over $400k) 1 percentage point, from 37 to 38. This would be a mid-point from their drop from 39.6 a few years ago.
2) The additional percentage point goes toward paying down the debt. (It would be a drop in the bucket since so few people earn $400k, but it’s a start.)
first thing we should do is raise the top bracket to equal what the top bracket was in the 50's.....
in the 50's the top bracket was income over 380k.....which is about 3.5 million in todays dollars
Appreciate the link. But it needs to continue for a while as we know that wages have been flat since the '70s until apparently 2014.
From 2018:
Quote:
But despite the strong labor market, wage growth has lagged economists’ expectations. In fact, despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And what wage gains there have been have mostly flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
How about a flat tax that everyone pays regardless of income; say 14%. No capital gains tax on assets held more than 3 years, 5% on 2 years, 10% on 1 year or less. No estate tax.
how about simply forgetting about capital gains being non-taxable, and everything that is income is income (and yes, unfortunately that would include estates of small businesses I *think*).
then a non-capped payroll tax that pays for everything it's supposed to, plus everything the Dems want - so long as the rate is high enough to pay for it.
how about simply forgetting about capital gains being non-taxable, and everything that is income is income (and yes, unfortunately that would include estates of small businesses I *think*).
It would also include everyone's pensions and 401Ks. Their growth in asset value is BASED on capital gains. That would negatively impact the nearly 100 million American workers/retirees who have, in aggregate, $29.1 trillion worth of investments in their pensions and/or retirement accounts. I don't think 100 million Americans would be too happy about having their retirement funds looted by a Congress that simply CANNOT control its spending.
Quote:
then a non-capped payroll tax that pays for everything it's supposed to, plus everything the Dems want - so long as the rate is high enough to pay for it.
The Medicare tax is already uncapped, but that's because so are Medicare benefits. The SS tax is capped because SS benefits are capped. SS is also already progressive meaning those who contribute the least in SS tax get the greatest return on their contributions, and those who contribute the most get the least return.
Few people realize that most people LOSE money on SS, now. Most will get back in SS benefits less than they've paid in SS taxes.
Quote:
"As recently as 1985, workers at every income level could retire and expect to get more in benefits than they paid in Social Security taxes, though they didn't do quite as well as their parents and grandparents.
Not anymore.
A married couple retiring last year after both spouses earned average lifetime wages paid about $598,000 in Social Security taxes during their careers. They can expect to collect about $556,000 in benefits, if the man lives to 82 and the woman lives to 85, according to a 2011 study by the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.
Social Security benefits are progressive, so most low-income workers retiring today still will get slightly more in benefits than they paid in taxes. Most high-income workers started getting less in benefits than they paid in taxes in the 1990s, according to data from the Social Security Administration."
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