| rocketpig said: I agree that the education system is the single biggest failure in America right now. That should be the first and biggest priority for everyone but it continually gets cast to the side for one dumb reason or another. On the other hand, continually lowering taxes for the rich is not the solution, either. Last time I checked, the rich in America were doing just fine in the 50s and 60s when their tax percentage was a god 20% over what it is today. The government keeps getting bigger (bad, but another argument for another day) but we keep lowering taxes on the wealthy and feeding that bullshit line to the American public as a good thing. It. Just. Doesn't. Make. Sense. |
Unfortunately, the real issue with taxing the wealthy in America isn't what the percentage is, but how we utilize what is in place.
Our tax code is build to encourage loopholes for those better to do. For example, many of the nation's wealthy pay less in income tax than the middle class due to having many loopholes, and enough accountants to know the tax code, and how to utilize it.
Therefore, raising taxes won't work under our current system. That is why we saw the rich pay more taxes when we dropped their tax rate.
Likewise, lets not forget what actual tax recipts were when we did charge the uber-wealthy that 90% tax rate:
I have to ask....How effective was that 90% tax rate, again?
The best thing we can do is not increase taxes, but change how we collect them. Closing all loopholes and credits for anyone for any reason would be a good place to start. It would ensure that those that are frauding the system of revenue be required to pay in. If we simply raise taxes, people will either move out, or cheat the system like they always have. That is why I don't think taxes are the be-all-end-all solution of rectifying the GINI coefficient. Its just a scapegoat for those that seek to pin the blame on a certain group of people, instead of realizing the true, deeper, problems we face.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
