Taxes And The Rich
Hat-Tip to Evan Coyne Maloney at Brain-Terminal...
As you can see from the chart above, in 2006 the top 1% of wage earners paid 40% of the nation's tax burden while only earning 22% of the nation's income. Likewise, the top 5% paid 60% of the tax burden while earning only 37% of the income. Seems fair to me. How about you?
Every time I hear someone claim that ‘the rich’ aren’t paying their ‘fair share,’ I wonder, how much tax would ‘the rich’ have to pay before it becomes fair?
--Evan Coyne Maloney, brain-terminal.com
posted by Hawkeye® -- Tuesday, July 29, 2008
6 Comments
6 Comments:
"Ehhhh, --let them eat cake", Nancy Pelosi.
No wait, that was said by someone who didn't kept her head very long after she said it!
People were a little more angry then but, I don't think it will take a whole lot more for Americans to get that mad again.
One thought is, why would anyone want to become rich today, knowing that, (UNLESS they also become a politician), they will be taxed to where they will be equal with the sloths that refuse to work?
Off topic--Once again we see that Republicans make Republican politicians pay for their unethical/criminal activity, Senator Ted Fossil (AK), while the likes of Wm Jefferson, Steny Hoyer, John Murtha, etc get promoted as Democrats.
Tax Cuts - A Simple Lesson In Economics
This is how the cookie crumbles. Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill THE WAY WE PAY OUR TAXES, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh $7.
The eighth $12.
The ninth $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, the ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. What about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'?
The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal.
So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The ones who get the most money back from a reduction are those who paid in the most. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.
Excellent post!
Is it fair? Of course not. The rich obviously pay more than their fair share. It's never enough for the Pelosers in Congress though...
R.A.M.,
I think you're right. I don't think it will take a whole lot to make people angry, the way things are going. I'm surprised there's not more outrage against the Pelosi's and Reid's of this world.
Best regards...
Camo,
Yeah, I've seen that one before. It sure brings things into perspective, doesn't it? Hopefully the tenth guy who didn't show up the last night went to a really nice restaurant where he ate by himself in luxury.
(:D) Best regards...
Beerme,
I think you're right. It won't be enough for the libs until the top 1% pay 99% of the taxes. Sheesh!
Best regards...
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