According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in 2006, the top 20 percent of income earners paid almost 70 percent of all federal taxes. "There's been a huge myth created that the rich aren't paying anything, the rich pay a much higher rate than the poor” says William McBride, the Tax Foundation's chief economist (Sanandaji et al). The boom of the 1990’s was in fact not caused by Clinton’s idea to increase taxes on the top percent of American’s , but led by outside sources such as; massive reduction in military spending, the fall of the former Soviet Union, advancement in technology and manufacturing ultimately making workers more efficient, decline in oil costs, and no major wars. Many people interoperate Clinton’s high tax policy as finally making the wealthy pay their fair share and creating a more stable middle class. However, Clinton cannot be given full credit for this economic boom, and in fact many ignore the long term effects of his policy. America is built on a equality and ambition that should not be restrained by tax codes. Taxes should not be raised on the wealthy because the wealthy provide a majority of employment, they can invest their saving from taxes elsewhere, and they entitled to what they’ve earned ("Should the Wealthiest 1%”).
Raising taxes on the top two percent of Americans will have a reverse effect on fighting inflation. They’ll move out of taxable income and depend on lower taxed sources of wealth which in return will slow down demand and create a slower economy. Inflation will continue creating stagflation. The wealthy will eventually move down tax brackets resulting in a larger middle class. Doing so will decrease optimism and the drive for success among Americans and the dream for a better l...
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...in the news daily, so why not you? Equal treatment is was drives the thoughts of a better life and on a nation built off of opportunity and virtue. So why penalize success?
Works Cited
Farmer, Brian. "Is Soaking The Rich The Right Answer?." New American (08856540) 29.5 (2013): 17. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
Sanandaji, Tino, and Arvid Malm. "Raising Taxes Will Not Resolve the Budget Deficit." The US Deficit. Ed. Kathy Jennings and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Obama's Folly: Why Taxing the Rich Is No Solution." http://www.american.com/archive/2011/august/obamasfollytaxingtherich/article_print. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
"Should the Wealthiest 1% of Americans Be Taxed More Heavily? - 2012 Presidential Election - ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2014
Since 1980, America has experienced a quick and drastic change in income distribution between the top 1% and the rest of the country. The graphs below from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities show how tax policies implemented by the Reagan Administration have compounded over the past thirty-three years to create drastic income disparities.
Mehan, C.. N.p.. Web. 19 Jan 2014. . . N.p.. Web. 6 Mar 2014. . Kirkland, Stephen D. "Should We Have A Flat Tax?." Business & Economic Review 49.1 (2002): 27.
New Nationalism focused on eradicating economic inequality. In 2007, the top 1 percent of Americans owned 23.5 percent of the nation’s wealth (Pear, 2011). This problem has increased, not gone away, since Roosevelt addressed it in 1910. Unfairness in the tax code has become a prominent topic of political discussion. President Obama called for alterations to the U.S. tax system, which allows millionaires to pay lower rates than middle-class workers like teachers and firefighters, in his 2012 State of the Union address (“Remarks of President Barack Obama – As prepared for delivery State of the Union Address,” 2012.). In December, the president traveled to Osawatomie to speak. He echoed Roosevelt’s New Nationalism, saying he believes “this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share” (Fox, 2011). Although he spoke in Os...
Rust, M. (1998, August 3). "Public Welfare for Billionaires." Insight on the News. v14 n28.
The top 10 percent, and even more so the top 1% , are going through increases in income expon...
Kraft, Michael E., and Scott R. Furlong. 2013. Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives, Anonymous Anonymous , ed. Charisse Kiino . 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.
Krugman points out how despite the obvious and ever growing gap between the rich and middle class in terms of wealth increase, Republicans tend to vote for tax cuts for the rich and for decreases in funding for programs that benefit the middle and lower classes of society, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Cutting funds for these services puts the middle and lower classes at even more of a disadvantage than they already were. Meanwhile, the rich receiving more tax cuts means they receive more money, furthering the economic wealth gap and increasing the money they can spend to influence politics. Krugman suggests the solution to the problem is increasing taxes on the
Between 2009 and 2012, income gains by the top one percent increased by over 30 pe...
Carnegie, Andrew. "The Gospel of Wealth." Mountain View College Reader. Neuleib, Janice. Cain S., Kathleen. Ruffus, Stephen. Boston: 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900. 2013 Print.
The richest people who seem to keep getting richer have been walking into their wealth since the day they have been born. It has been proven by how the companies have been popping up around the world, how the companies are being bribed by governors trying to make their state seem more economically powerful. “Philips, Sony, and Toyota factories are popping up all over—to the self congratulatory applause of the nation’s governors and mayors, who have lured them with promises of tax abatements and new sewers, among other amenities.” (Paragraph 17) People are born into their jobs, and are doomed for their economic boats. IN other countries such as China, it has been proven that the families with the moneys are the ones with the money, are the ones with the economic power. “Many wealthy Chinese and western residents moved their money abroad and some actually left the colony. By 1971, the Cultural Revolution in China had ended in failure and conditions in Hong Kong calmed,” (Lannom) such as Gloria Lannom states, yet it took a while for Hong Kong to rebuild its economic standings because of this
America is in a Great Recession, and the American Dream seems to be dying (if not already dead) to many Americans. I don’t think that the American Dream is dead; it just needs rehabilitation due to the injuries it sustained from the hands of an unregulated government. Though we are in a Great Recession, every American can progress their lives for the betterment of themselves and future generations. According to Brandon King (2011) in The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?: “…the most worrisome problem is inequality: that wealth is concentrated into the hands of a rich minority.” Because of this, many Americans and politicians are arguing about either “raising the taxes on the rich” or “supporting the richest sectors in America” (Thomas, 2011) to stimulate the economy. In the articles I have read in They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, both Cal Thomas and Brandon King seem to believe that the government should not tax the rich minority more than the poor majority. I disagree with both Cal and Brandon and believe that the rich should be taxed more than the poor. However, the income from the taxes should be put to use for the betterment of the poor majority of America.
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
Because all economic brackets are taxed equally under a flat tax, earning more money is no longer discouraged. Because there are no more marginal tax rates, people will have incentive to work more without worrying that the extra money they make will be taxed higher. It is said that the economy would grow by 5.
Tax cuts are only benefiting the richest people, and will widen the inequality gap between the rich and the poor. A recent report from the Congressional Research Service states, “as the top tax rates a...
In American society, there is a large disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor. This wealth disparity has far reaching effects into the areas of politics, education, culture, and more. By using their wealth to dominate politics, education, and culture, the rich perpetuate the exclusion of the poor into the substandard position of poverty.