Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Tax the rich


Oh boy, did we ever. Investors Business Daily reveals the extent of the ever-increasing redistribution of wealth in the United States:

Looking at both taxes and spending in a representative year - 2004 - the study found an estimated $1.03 trillion to $1.53 trillion was 'redistributed downward' from the two highest-earning income quintiles. That's a lot of redistribution.

Today, some 44 million Americans pay no taxes at all. Meanwhile, the upper 5% of all income earners in 2004 paid 57.13% of all taxes, up from 35.01% in 1980. In other words, the U.S. tax code is becoming more progressive, not less.
It's been argued that the reason health care costs are spiraling out of control is because most Americans don't (fully) pay for medical care and, thus, don't care that much about the cost. If market pressures were brought to bear then, perhaps, medical costs could be kept under control. By the same coin, when Americans are disassociated from the costs of government, it's a free-for-all. What's worse is that when the bill comes due for long-term obligations such as Social Security, the tax burden will not be evenly distributed for what is supposed to be a universal benefit.

Refresher - The late, great Milton Friedman on the four ways to spend money.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunate timing, to be posting this data on the very same day it was announced that the national distribution of wealth was at its most extreme point since 1929.

It's tragic that the top 20%, who possess 84% of the country's wealth, are being prevented from keeping their fair 87% or 89% instead. Perhaps they aren't taking the fullest possible advantage of food stamps and subsidized housing.

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

Anonymous said...

So, funny name guy (FNG?), what exactly have you done to deserve some of someone else's money?
Sat on your backside and commented online while your neighbors went to work? Thought up supposedly witty names?

Anything?

Have you cured a disease, made a breakthrough in manufacturing efficiency?

Come on, let us know!

buddy larsen said...

FNG obviously doesn't see socialism for what it is.

Tyler Dawbin said...

Hey, I'm trying to get the word out on conservative Mass. blogs about this:

http://devalpatrick.com/issue.php?issue_id=7582451

Can you help?

Thanks!

Tyler Dawbin said...

Link to Tell Deval that we want to Vote on Marriage

I should have done it like that the first time...

Anonymous said...

It's always funny (but bizarre) to see good little conservative soldiers root-root-rooting so hard for a class of people whom they will never join. And who do not return the rooting favor, ever.

Jody said...

Anon: Your confusion results from different self-identities. One set self-identifies as a group - the other as individuals.

Anonymous said...

Libs have a valid point when they dismiss conservatives who claim only the rich pay taxes...

For example, who among the 44 million Americans who pay no taxes doesn't buy things or rent or own property? How many of these 44 million don't drive cars?

The point is, we can distinguish between those who do and don't pay when it concerns income taxes. That's easy. What's harder to calculate is how much those in the bottom three quintiles pay in sales taxes, property taxes, user fees, etc.

BTW, I'm on of those income tax payers in the top two quintiles, so don't take me for a liberal reactionary. I know damn well Americans fork over far too much of theri income to federal and state governments which, at times, appear to exist only to perpetuate themselves. But to suggest that 44 million people in this country pay no taxes is disingenuous.