Forum Post: Wrote this as a reply to beautifulworld but thought I should post it, bit of history.

In the summer of 2000 George W Bush travels the country promising; “to lower the lowest tax rate to 10%”, the lowest tax rate at the time was 15% covering the first $27,050 (S), $45,200 (M), to 10%. Conservatives often pointed out that the Bush plan gave a 33% reduction to working class (15% to 10%) and only a 11.5% reduction (39.1% to 35%, he was fighting for more here) for those making over $300,000/yr. When the plan was passed a new tax rate of 10% had been created, but only covering the first $6,000 (S), $12,000 (M), resulting in a 7.2% reduction on the first $27,950 (S), and a 8.6% reduction on first $46,700 (M) both much less than the 11.5% reduction for the wealthy. This resulted in the number of tax brackets going from 5 to 6. None of the people who had cried for a “flat tax” with fewer tax brackets complained; none of the people who had for years championed the wonderful effects of marginal tax relief complained that most Americans wouldn’t be getting marginal tax relief. None of the “liberals” said anything. Coming back to that $300,000 level, given that we live in a time where one person stands to pick up 28 billion and the guy that painted his walls is picking up 200 million, 28 billion is a LOT more than 200 million and their both a lot more than $300,000 maybe the tax ladder could stand a few more rungs.

(Politics of envy)

Maybe starting in the 1970’s but picking up steam in the 1980’s the GOP started to divide Americas along class lines using the “politics of envy” to separate those that were lucky enough to have good paying union jobs from those that were not, this worked especially well in the south where “right to work” state interference prevented unions and employers from entering into certain contract clauses. This trend continues today in Wisconsin and is moving on to Arizona.