Here are some economic facts that will give you food for thought:
The highest earning 300,000 Americans, representing only 1/10% of the working population (that's one taxpayer out of every 1,000 American workers) earn nearly as much as the bottom 62 million taxpayers who support 150 million family members!
80% of the recent gains in the income of America's workers have been made by the top 1% of taxpayers. Only 20% in recent income gains has been spread among the remaining 99% of America's labor force!
These highest paid 300,000 individuals pay a smaller percentage of income taxes on their earnings than most other workers in this country that make far less income pay as a percentage of their income. Warren Buffett, the 2nd richest man in the USA, paid only 17% of his 2006 income in income taxes. What percent of your income did you pay in income taxes?
HOW ARE AMERICA'S WORKERS REALLY DOING? LET'S SEE:
25% OF AMERICAN WORKERS EARN LESS THAN $9.00 PER HOUR!
MOST HAVE NO HEALTH CARE OR PENSIONS PROVIDED BY EMPLOYERS AND THE LIST IS GROWING!
50% OF AMERICAN WORKERS RECEIVE NO GUARANTEED SICK-PAY OR PAID SICK-DAYS OF ANY KIND!
PAID DAYS OFF AND VACATIONS: This is what US workers and workers in some other countries are guaranteed:
France: 31 days per year; Austria: 27 days per year; United Kingdom: 20 days per year; Japan: 10 days per year. United States: NONE!
While the wages and working conditions in many other countries are getting better, in the USA they are getting worse. Laws protecting workers continue to have lax government enforcement, while new laws continue to aid business in making even more money at the expense of American workers.
India has an ethnic caste system that is slowly dissolving.
America has an economic caste system that is on steroids!
1 comment:
You're starting to reveal yourself more as a socialist than a believer in free markets. The thing that makes America great is that you are rewarded for your efforts, not the efforts of others.
Comparing vacation schedules of countries seems nice but we see that the hard work in America pays off in terms of Per Capita GDP:
$40,100 - US
$28,700 - France
$31,300 - Austria
$29,600 - UK
$29,400 - Japan
Those days off in France hurt, don't they?
Saying that the highest earners pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes is a skewed statistic. We know that workers pay income taxes and payroll taxes (Social Security). In terms of income tax, the high earners pay the highest percentage as shown in the table below:
Top %....Income....% Income....Taxes....% Taxes
=============================================
5%.......$353K......33%...........$73.4K...57%
25%......$140K......66%...........$21.7K...85%
50%........................................96.7%
Lower50%....................................3.3%
To me the alarming statistic is that the lower 50% of earners pay only 3.3% of the income taxes. What's their incentive to not "soak the rich" with taxes? Isn't it just easier to legislate that "others should work for my benefit"?
Now to get to your skewed statistics that lower earners pay higher percentage taxes you have to include Payroll Taxes but don't forget that Payroll Taxes are a forced retirement
savings program with the fact that the more you earn the more you pay and the more you receive in benefits.
But the contributions and the benefits are limited to a maximum amount. That's why you stop paying them above an income level close to $100K per year.
So what we see is a tax system based on the following principles:
Income Taxes - The more you earn the higher % you pay. This is highly progressive
Payroll Taxes - You pay for you benefit
Now how would you like it if as a consumer they asked "How much do you earn"? Then the price of your purchase was higher if you earned more? Surely you wouldn't think that was fair would you?
Let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
My 2 cents worth.
Post a Comment