Do you consider yourself more left or right wing?

[Chrkeller]

zorg1000 said:

Chrkeller said:

Please.  The debate isn't going anywhere because you (and many others) want to ignore 50% of the population pays 97%.  You (and others) want to ignore the US is dominating world markets.  You (and many others) want to paint the US as being some struggling falling behind country, but the reality the US is top 15 in most categories and has an absurd amount of upward mobility.  You simply want to paint the US as something it is not.  

edit

Want another stat?  MS is the US's poorest state.  And MS has around the GDP per capita as the United Kingdom.   

US is 4% of the world's population but 27% of the world's GDP....  

Was the US not also a leader in innovation in the 40s/50s/60s/70s when tax rates on income/corporations/capital gains were significantly higher?

That time period is nicknamed the “golden age of capitalism” and the top income tax rate ranged from 70% to 94% compared to 37% today, the top corporate tax rate ranged from 40% to 53% compared to 21% today, the top capital gains tax ranged from 25% to 35% compared to 20% today.

During this time, union membership was also significantly higher, minimum wage had significantly higher purchasing power, the safety net was rapidly being built, the regulatory state was built, homeownership rates were rapidly increasing.

I would understand your argument if the US wasn’t also the richest country with the strongest military and a leader in innovation during that time period…..but it was.

I would suspect US culture has shifted a lot since those times.  Same with human behavior.  

Richest country with 4% of the population...  strikes me as though we are doing something right.

I just worry when people, could be my interpretation, want to make drastic changes, when clearly a lot is working.

And if it helps, I think capital gains should go away.  Income should be taxed as income, source shouldn't matter.  Investment should be taxed, for everyone as ordinary income.  

Last edited by Chrkeller - on 08 September 2025