Stacking the Decades
The left has been playing games with income inequality FOR DECADES. a)
The income that they talk about is always of the pre-tax variety. The
wealthy pay the bulk of federal and state income tax and local property
tax. The actual disposable income is obviously considerably less. b) The
income at the bottom rung is almost always calculated absent the
plethora of transfer payments that the poor in this country frequently
receive. When you factor in the value of the food stamps, the housing
and energy assistance, the earned income tax credit, etc., the disparity
once again is lessened. c) The left almost always cites statistics
relative to household income. This is highly deceptive in that the
number of workers per household in the upper quintile is roughly 4 times
the number of that which exists for the lowest quintile (an average of 2
earners per family in the upper quintile and .5 in the lowest
quintile). Obviously they're going to have a SIGNIFICANTLY higher
household income. d) The majority of households in the bottom quintile
of earners DO NOT have even one full-time year-round worker. These
households are comprised predominantly of single mothers on welfare,
Social Security recipients (retirees or those on disability), and people
who work part-time and/or sporadically (as I pointed out in a previous
thread, 97.5% of people who work full-time/ year-round are NOT below the
poverty level). e) The left rarely, if ever, brings up the concept of
social mobility. According the IRS's very own numbers, more than half of
the people in the top 1% in 1996 WEREN'T there within a decade. Add to
that the fact that 58% of the people in the bottom quintile in 1996 had
moved out of their situation by 2006 and it really does underscore the
reality that America is in fact an opportunity
society....................................................................................................Look,
I'm not saying here that being poor is any sort of cakewalk. It
obviously isn't. And nobody who I know (even my most conservative
colleagues) is even remotely saying that we should do away with the
social safety net. But the level of the hand-wringing from the
progressive left has really reached a tipping-point, in my opinion.You
work, you make money. You work hard (and, yes, staying in school is
helpful, too), you make more money. You sit behind a keyboard and
bitch.......
"The wealthy pay the bulk of federal and state income tax and local property tax."
ReplyDeleteThe wealthy pay only the "bulk" of property tax where they live, often isolated from poorer property tax payers. The amount of income taxes they pay is a reflection of how much money they make compared to what the tax rates are, and both in marginal rates and effective rates, the wealthy now pay a historically low rate of taxes.
So. You're wrong in your initial premise.
JMJ
And there aren't any rich people in NYC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, etc.? Please.
DeleteThe top 1% pays 36.7% of all federal income tax (this, despite the fact that they only make 16.9% of the AGI) and in a lot of states the poorer communities get subsidized and where in the hell do you think that that money comes from, the toot fairy?
ReplyDeleteI laugh every time a conservative cries that almost half of Americans don't pay federal taxes; which of course means they don't even meet poverty levels set by the IRS, to pay any tax. So much for Republican promises of good paying job growth.
ReplyDeleteAfter paying taxes for 40 years to meet the promise of social programs America has had for 80 years; I'm called a deadbeat for taking my check, and Republicans want to eliminate the programs. No need, Republicans will kill government programs, by leaving us their 15 trillion dollar debt. So much for Republican promises of leaving a healthy future, for future Americans.
Complain about Obama all you want; after Republican fiscal and tax policies have left America bankrupt, Americans are correct to turn to Democrats. I miss the days of Clinton, huge growth, and a balanced budget.
Balanced budget yes. But check the specific reason for this. It was because a Republican congress forced him. In other words he had no alternative. Even my progressive brother acknowledges this.
DeleteLook ot up for yourself dude.
Funny, conservatives claim Obama figures prove how bad he is without consideration that his policies had nothing to do with the mess left to him by Republicans. Yet they claim they are tired of hearing it is Bush's fault.
ReplyDeleteMany Presidents have had to deal with the legislator in the opposition (in majority). No House (including Truman's do nothing Congress) has done so little (obstructed) any legislation by the President.
So Republican mistakes are Obama's fault, and Democrat successes are Republicans glory. That is partisan dishonesty on a major level. It shows you have deceived yourself on a major level. By that thinking Obama must have been responsible for the first trillion dollar debt (1983) even though Obama was still in school.
If Republicans make all correct decisions and Democrats just screw things up please explain how Republican policies are responsible for 90% of the multi-trillion dollar debt (check the figures).
Okay, here it is don my perspective. Bush screwed things up, with a lot of help.
DeleteObama comes into a mess.
Results, a bigger mess.
But we have the hopey changey mojo going on so I guess we'll be okay. Right?
Got a bridge for sale?