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Old 08-12-2004, 11:44 AM   #91 (permalink)
kutulu
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Quote:
Originally posted by phyzix525
I do know that the top 10% erners and corporations pay 80% of the taxes, so I have to say the middle class is getting a pretty fair shake.
I knew this would get thrown out there eventually. It's the classic Rush approach, throw a number out with no context and talk about how the middle class and poor are getting some free ride from the rich. The truth is much different than what Rush tells you.

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/pub/irs-soi/01in01ts.xls

Looking at 2001 numbers only, you see this (I know it's hard to read but I can't get the columns to line up):

class, tax share income share adj gross income
top 1%, 33.89% 17.53% 293k
top 5%, 53.25% 31.99% 128k
top 10%, 64.89% 43.11% 93k
top 25%, 82.90% 65.23% 56k
top 50%, 96.03% 86.19% 28.5k

Those numbers are high because each class includes now look what it's like if you remove the tier above:
group tax share income share income range
0%-1% 33.89% 17.53% 293k < income < infinity

1%-5% 19.36% 14.46% 128k < income < 293k

5%-10% 11.12% 11.64% 93k < income < 128k

10%-25% 18.01% 22.12% 56k < income < 128k

25%-50% 13.13% 20.96% 28.5k < income < 56k

Things get even really fast. Two groups pay more than their proportional share of the tax burden, the ones making more than 99% of all Americans and the ones in the 95-99 percentiles. The people in the 95-99 aren't even paying that much more, compared to their income, and since their is such a large gap between the bottom and top of those groups, most of the disproportionality comes from those closer to the top 1%. Once you fall to the 5-10 percentile, you are already paying a tax rate that is nearly perfectly proportional to your income.

Looking at it this way, how is our current system THAT unfair? The only ones getting huge breaks are those making less than 28.5k per year. Should we really risk economic havoc so that people making over 300k can have it easier?

Last edited by kutulu; 08-12-2004 at 11:47 AM..
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