2014
Our obsession with the 1% or just “wealthy” stimulated by our president’s populist rhetoric tends to cloud our thinking. “Fair share” and all that gives the impression that the wealthy don’t pay much in taxes. However, the facts say something different. In fact, it is the top 5% of income earners who make possible the government benefits provided to the lower 50% of earners.
Sure, you can find instances where a high income person paid a low tax rate because of the nature of their income, but so what? The aggregate tells a much different story. In addition, giving ones fair share to society as a whole goes beyond taxes flowing to the government. In 2008 (latest data I can find) the top income class accounted for 24 percent of charitable donations from all taxpayers. This does not include giving through established trusts such as the Gates foundation.
None of this impresses some people who like George Meany simply want “more.” But how much more and for what purpose? Tell me my liberal friends, what percentage of ones income should be given to the government? The top 5% of households have an income of about $232,000.
What percent of that income would be fairly paid to the federal government (keeping in mind most also pay the top rate for state income taxes). LET’S HAVE YOUR COMMENT.
The top 1% of US taxpayers pay almost as much in federal income taxes as the entire bottom 95%, and half of that bottom group paid no taxes at all in 2010
American Enterprise Institute
Mark J. Perry | December 27, 2012, 11:37 am
According to new IRS data, the 1.35 million taxpayers that represent the highest-earning one percent of the Americans who filed federal income tax returns in 2010 earned 18.9% of the total gross income and paid 37.4% of all federal income taxes paid in that year. In contrast, the 128.3 million taxpayers in the bottom 95% of all U.S. taxpayers in 2010 earned 66.2% of gross income and that group paid 40.9% of all taxes paid. In other words, the top 1 percent (1.35 million) of American taxpayers paid almost as much federal income tax in 2010 ($354.8 billion) as the entire bottom 95% of American tax filers ($388.4 billion), see chart above. And it’s that group of top income earners (with income above $221,000 in 2010 to be in the top one percent), that Obama and the Democrats want to tax even more.Further, there were more than 58 million Americans in 2010 who had tax returns with a zero or negative tax liability, so about half of the bottom 95% of American “taxpayers” paid nothing or got a tax refund.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Mr Wilson, that is totally my problem. I am very aware of events in the world around me and very uneasy with what I see. The country’s going to “you know where” in a hand basket and rather quickly. You blame it on the rich and the business owner and the person who thinks and lives his life conservatively. You blame it on the person who has worked hard throughout their life and has accomplished something for themselves and their family. If I can remind you of an old saying “one person’s trash is another’s treasure”, thus “one person’s level playing field is another’s uphill battle”. I grew up in Obama’s territory in Chicago in a one room apartment with 4 people. You ate, slept, entertained, studied, etc in that one room.I shared that room with the cock roaches and sliver fish. You could say I grew up in the bottom 10% of the socio economic strata. I feel through hard work and businesses being able to hire me I have reached what is now supposed to be disappearing….the middle class. What I hate to see is the policies that make it easier for one who is almost “there” to stay on the fence and not persevere ahead. And yes, against all odds. There is a lot of anger (your comment demonstrates that) and hatred out there in society. “Self reliance” has become a dirty word. What a shame we have come to this. Oh by the way, if you check with Pew Research you will see the bible is more familiar among the conservative ranks than with the liberal ranks of our nation.
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Good for you Charles, but your personal experiences have nothing to do with the fact that the Koch brothers, et al. are in the process of buying congress or with any of the other facts that I stated. Familiarity with the Bible in some poll does not change the fact that conservative congress members and their owners are dedicated to subjugating “the 99%” which is hardly in keeping with anything promulgated by Jesus Christ.
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With all due respect to your commentary I think you miss one very important fact . The graph clearly depicts that back in 1980 the 95 % paid nearly 65% of the taxes and the wealthy paid a smidge over 20%. Since then the salaries of the 95 % have been consistently driven down whereas the wealthy have seen their incomes increase and such increase has been totally disproportionate to the balance of the population. Stated simply the rich have gotten much richer and the middle class has become significantly poorer. Thus the statistics you quote while correct do not tell the entire story. Ultimately we are disproving the validity of free enterprise system. If we are not careful we will cease to exist as free democratic society as the current policies will drive out the middle until the few wealthy will have to deal with a revolt of the majority of the population. We cannot continue to reward the upper echelon with incomes that are so unjust when compared to the workers who toil for their corporations. I must surely applaud the President of IBM and her corporate management leaders who recently announced they would not accept any bonuses but rather just be paid their salaries. Her income is a fair $1.5 million but as she stated the year 2013 was one of poor performance for IBM and as such she felt there was no entitlement to any bonus even though apparently contractually she was entitled to one. This is the message that needs to be driven across all of American corporations. The fact is executive management should be fairly compensated but when the CEO of MEDCO earned $36 million for sheperding the merger with Express Scrips while the rank and file of the union members at A&P were told they must accept a 10% cut in pay before the Administrative Law Judge would approve the emergence of A&P from bankcruptcy several years ago I think there is something that needs mending legislatively.
Bob B
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Very well said and sadly so true, Bob B.!
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A very, very few Americans in total earn in the multi-millions a year and even then most of the compensation is in shares of stock which is the problem of shareholders. I agree some are not worth their pay, but how does that affect the little guy? Pointing to the few outrageously compensated is just good politics. It does not solve the problem of the lower and lowest paid not being prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.
Workers are in competition with the world, not the CEO. Americans so concerned should only buy American made goods (if they can find them) and the higher prices that go with them. And there is the rub you don’t here politicians talk about.
As far as IBM goes, poor performance does not deserve a bonus, that’s how bonuses are supposed to work. On the other hand I agree that bonuses are not valid motivators and in many cases are a joke with weak measures. I prefer good salaries that increase based on proven results over time.
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As the top 1% have steadily driven down the incomes of the bottom 95%, the bottom 95% have earned less and have, therefore, paid less income taxes. Duh!
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Please explain how the 1% have driven down the incomes of all other Americans? A better bet would be to look in your closet and cabinets, perhaps your driveway and see where the more affordable things you buy were made?
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One more time!: First of all, Mr. Quinn, I am amazed that you wrote this: “Explain to me how that works Wilson. How does the 1% cause the 99% to not do well? And exactly what relevance does the gap have to do with the rest of us” because I am quite certain that you understand money, politics and the “big picture”; but since you asked, here goes:
The Koch brothers, with their friends and associates, spent $407 million dollars in the 2012 election trying to defeat President Obama and attempting to buy Congress. They epitomize “the 1%”. “The 1%” succeeded in maintaining a Republican House majority, but failed in their bid to own the Senate and failed to defeat Obama. The Koch brothers, by the way, continue to receive “big oil subsidies” because the right-wing congress members that they bought and paid for will not support changing those tax loopholes.
As we speak, the Koch brothers and their cronies are meeting and planning in Arizona how to spend many more millions during the 2014 mid-term elections in an attempt to buy the Senate and retain the House.
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, are pledged not to support raising the minimum wage and will introduce bills to eliminate the minimum wage entirely. This damages our struggling economy, keeps many of “the 99%” downtrodden and reliant upon “welfare” to survive. That, in turn, hinders our economic recovery increases our national debt and renders our nation vulnerable to the more clever nations in the rest of the world. The national debt is increased because these bought and paid for members of Congress will not support tax reform to require “the 1%” to pay income taxes on the profits of greed stashed in off shore banks that they enjoy by utilizing the infrastructure that legitimate tax-paying citizens have paid for.
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, are pledged to vote to eliminate food stamps, head start, meals on wheels, et al. This damages our struggling economy, keeps many of “the 99%” demoralized and dependent upon what “welfare” does remain, to survive. That, in turn, hinders our economic recovery, demoralizes many of our struggling citizens and renders our nation vulnerable to the more benevolent societies in the rest of the world.
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, are pledged to vote to eliminate unemployment benefits for those of our citizens who are the victims of the inhumane corporate greed which sent their jobs offshore. That, in turn, increases the need for welfare assistance for their very survival. All of which weakens our economic recovery, creates opportunities for Tea Party Republicans to declare Obama to be “the food stamp president” and again undermines our economic recovery so that they can run against an economy struggling to recover in November of 2014. What a concept. Fuck things up totally through obstructionism and then blame Obama in November.
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, at both state and national levels, are pledged to vote to suppress voting rights for any person of color who is likely to vote Democratic and to vote to deny any chance of citizenship for any immigrant who is likely to vote democratic. The minority right wing can no longer win elections so they are resorting to rigging elections. These actions destroy our precious democracy by oppressing the majority of our citizens and telling them that, if they are not wealthy and white, they do not matter. If that is not “relevance to the rest of us”, then tell me what is?
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, at both state and national levels, are pledged to vote to crush the power and membership of labor unions. History clearly shows that the income and improving life styles of “the 99%” perfectly correlates with the power and strength of labor unions. An economically enhanced middle class creates more customers for the greedy 1%. However, they don’t mind grinding our workers into exploited servitude because there are so many needy and starving people elsewhere in the world to feed their corporate off shore tax exempt coffers and their blind inhumane greed. This is relevant to the rest of us because it is destroying our once great nation that our president is trying to preserve.
These subjugated workers in America will not complain about working conditions, they will not speak out for a living wage nor will they attempt to unionize because they are petrified of losing their jobs.
As in the 300,000 citizens of West Virginia who are afraid to complain about their drinking water having been polluted by big business for fear of losing their jobs.
The candidates supported by millions of campaign dollars from “the 1%”, if elected, are pledged to returning “the 99%” to an existence of feudal serfdom after adopting the Trans Pacific Partnership which will send even more American jobs off shore to countries such as Vietnam, where the minimum wage is 28 cents per hour, and there are no child labor laws or environmental regulations.
I don’t want to tear down any part of our society. I want a “level playing field”. “The 1%” should not be able to buy our government, as they now can. They own the House and are now spending millions more to buy the Senate. House obstructionism has crippled our nation for four years. We can boast of 48 consecutive months of private sector job growth under Obama in spite of Republican obstructionism, but just imagine how much better it could now be with patriotic support from the right wing rather than greed and divisiveness.
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You know Wilson you are talking to someone who graduated high school prepared to do nothing and spent six months finding my first job only to be let go a week later and then spending three more months finding another job as a mail boy. I was the lowest paid person in an organization of 15,000, lower even then the unskilled laborers. During the following years I spent two years in the army and nine years going to college at night while raising four children. I worked my way up the organization over 45 years to one of the top 25. Along the way I started two (very) part-time home businesses, and wrote for magazines to make the money my family needed, including putting the children through college.
I have little sympathy for today’s complainers and excuse makers. There is always opportunity for those with initiative. Mr Wilson you are drinking the cool-aid of progressive scapegoating and class warfare.
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Mr Wilson sounds like a perfect candidate to lead the cause for a separate progressive liberal country away from those horrible conservatives. In fact, he sounds like my sister in law. He has the excuses down pat. He can quote chapter and verse from the liberal bible. Offshoring, Koch brothers, servitude, obstructionism, etc., he has the talk down pat. Feudal serfdom OMG! Mr. Wilson how do you get through the day. I will pray on my conservative bible for you.
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Charles, you are very sadly totally unaware of events in the world around you. Perhaps your sister in law can help you? “Conservative Bible” is an oxymoron!
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