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A lot of these pension funds, annuities and other retirement accounts used to be able to rely on traditional savings accounts/CDs when we had "normal" or high interest rates.
With the Federal Reserve and Central Banks the world over keeping interest rates low or even negative for decades, they have nearly forced most of these funds and people in general to invest into the much riskier stock market in order to get any kind of returns on money/ROI.
I’ve said it before that everybody should be invested in the stock market and become more knowledgeable about how investing works.
They paid more as a percentage because they made most to all the gains. The middle class percentage has continued to shrink as their incomes therefore taxable incomes have stagnated during the same time we have had huge gains at the end of our economy. This is happening while productivity from the middle class continues to rise, so more work but less of a share of the profits., hence lower percentage of total taxes paid.
I would expect to see those at the top pay a higher percentage of the total taxes because that is the only group seeing real gains in income, everyone else is flat or has been flat for decades.
Its a direct sign that gains are funneling to the top with very little trickling down to the middle class.
simply false. and the evidence to the contrary has already been posted within the last day on this thread.
The middle class is getting squeezed but not necessarily because of taxes.
It's other things -- healthcare, daycare, college costs, and out of control housing prices that are doing it, IMO
correct as well, except for the housing prices. That's temporary, and the majority of today's "middle class" already owns their home.
all those 100's of billions in taxes they're going to raise, and the deficit STILL might not budge at all (notice this also has gone by the wayside in talking points).
Gonna spend $64 billion on extending ACA subsidies. There's an effect on healthcare costs in there, and only 1 group to then feel the brunt of those costs - the middle class.
Federal/state government spends millions on free/subsidized daycare for the working poor ... somebody's gotta pay that bill through taxes or higher costs of their own.
College costs? The poor don't go to college, and when they do - paid for by somebody else.
A lot of these pension funds, annuities and other retirement accounts used to be able to rely on traditional savings accounts/CDs when we had "normal" or high interest rates.
With the Federal Reserve and Central Banks the world over keeping interest rates low or even negative for decades, they have nearly forced most of these funds and people in general to invest into the much riskier stock market in order to get any kind of returns on money/ROI.
Exactly right. Those of us who have retired were always advised to put a good portion of our money in "safe" investments like CDs. But CDs and Money Markets have been a losing proposition for many years. Retirees still have most of their funds in the volatile stock market which is not a good idea when one is currently living off that money and it is no longer feasible to go back to work to earn more should the market crash. Fingers still crossed that it won't crash before CDs and money markets rise above inflation levels.
Last edited by ansible90; 08-15-2022 at 04:26 PM..
median household income 1970 …..7200...... in today's dollars that would be $54,979.05
median household income 2000 …..$40,483
median household income 2019.....68400
median household income in April 2022 is $75,539
sure looks like growth to any mathematician
Assuming all those numbers were converted into today's dollars, you are leaving out that that time period also covers women entering the workforce in large numbers... the rise of two income families is part of what you are seeing in that chart. That is household income.
I'd probably spend any new tax cut rather invest like we did previously.
Probably go towards food (local and domestic, if possible), manufactured goods (imported) and donations 501(c) and charitable.
Not as likely, but possible (thinking about doing so now with excess IRA income), I'd throw it into replenishing my taxable trading accounts.
YTMV
Last edited by leastprime; 08-15-2022 at 05:06 PM..
I have heard that janitor story before. Interesting but not representative of most poor people.
Some have moved up the economic ladder. But way too many are so low that they don't have to pay income tax. Something is wrong there. The bounty of trickle down has trickled up according to your statistics. People at the upper and middle-upper levels have benefited. Not much trickled down.
A lot of people have moved up exactly because trickle down works. The 50% increase in the percentage of US adults who are in the upper class proves it.
You still need the money to buy those fractional shares. You always need some money to get started.
Would you believe there are people out there with no extra money to save or invest, and they don't buy booze, drugs, lottery tickets, and Gucci bags either?
of course there are. What % of adults fit into this scenario and why? What % are truly stuck in this position - that is, they are mentally or physically incapable of labor?
Yes I know that. In real life, there is a significant part of our population that does not understand that, or they never earn enough to be able to have extra to save or invest. All those people who don't earn enough to pay taxes. Very few of them will manage to get educated enough to climb out of their hole. It's very sad, really.
I think you're expanding the # of people who cannot get out of poverty.
You're going to need to find the figures for mental or physical incapacity to work.
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