Forum Post: Reverse Progressivity of upper 1% tax rates
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 6, 2011, 5:28 p.m. EST by sbkn
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Keep focused on the unfair reverse progressivity of tax rates for the upper 1%. Tax rates become more progressive as income grows, but at the very top income levels, tax rates actually decline. Net worth continues to accrue for the upper 1% at high rates. Presidents since Kennedy have allowed tax rates for the very wealthy to decrease from 90% to between 28 and 35%. No wonder they control world media and governments. No wonder we are all working harder and longer for less and less. We can't all live like first world citizens. Everyone will have to scale back since there aren't enough resources in the world to allow us our first world lifestyle, but the very wealthy need to scale back as well. At least they must maintain the infrastructure which allows their own corporations to remain financially viable. But wages must increase so we can all live reasonably. Corporations and the very wealthy must pay more in taxes. They won't leave the country if their taxes are raised.
Politics is center-seeking. It is good the Occupy movement doesn't focus on one or the other political party. It must stay issues-based. Political candidates will respond in kind to this and it's highly possible for this issue to be addressed by those candidates. The Occupy movement will help get the wacko candidates like Herb Cain, Romney, etc. out of the picture so we can better address the problem.
Keep the issues focussed on this reverse progressivity in our tax code. Keep the message simple, focussed on the numbers involved, and very clear. Do not let the message be confused and distorted or it will be lost. Stay focussed for the months and years it takes for everyone to get on board with this. Otherwise we aren't really adults, and we get treated like the wayward children that we are (not to put down children, but we are grown-ups, aren't we?) We get treated the way we deserve to be treated if we act a certain way over a certain amount of time.
Yes, really we don't need a whole new tax code (which would be excruciatingly difficult to attain. Fixing this one glaring bit would go far AND is achievable.
To add insult to injury, many of the very wealthy derive a significant amount of their income from long-term capital gains, which has a 15% tax rate.
Thank you for this. It would be great if the movement could spotlight these problems. The very rich take their cues from the Koch brothers who display such a lack of ethics. George Soros and Warren Buffett however seem receptive to these changes to the tax code. This is a moment in history which must be seized. Young people need to be made aware of these numbers rather than be swayed by some of the confusing stuff posted here. Even if the movement fades away, these problems with the tax code won't disappear.
Agreed.
I think campaign finance and corporate personhood are important, but longer-term issues. Fixing the tax code is achievable in the short term.