"Josh Hill"  wrote in message
news:p1c9i3dmqsg4hi5jmikvae4tk23js2q1at{at}4ax.com...
> On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:44:14 -0500, "Dennis \(Icarus\)"
>  wrote:
>
> >"Josh Hill"  wrote in message
> >news:r330i39lgcpsvpfh8ilitpgp8ldl0o9kt6{at}4ax.com...
>
> >> There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. But, really, with a per
> >> capita income of something like $40,000 per year, we have more than
> >> enough money to pay everyone a decent wage without imposing on anyone
> >> (that comes to $160,000 for a family of four!).
> >
> >So how much of your current income are you willing to give up?
>
> Nothing will come of nothing, as Lear would say.
>
> Seriously, whatever is necessary to lift those willing to work to the
> best of their ability out of poverty, assuming of course that that
> applies to everyone. It isn't terribly much. In fact, for those with
> middle class incomes, it isn't really anything; for many years now,
> since power shifted to the conservatives, most of our economic gains
> have been going to the rich rather than the poor and middle class:
>
>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:United_States_Income_Distribution_1967-2003.svg
>
> Meanwhile, the Republicans have been preferentially reducing the taxes
> of the rich. I'd take some of that back.

Because when you cut income taxes, those with the most income will benefit
the most.
When you cut captial gains, those who have capital gains will benefit.

>
> To put it in perspective, the top 1% of American taxpayers earn 21.2%
> of American income. They paid 39.4% of income taxes, or a bit less
> than twice the average rate, but they paid much lower effective rates
> on other taxes such as FICA, real estate, and sales, so their overall
> tax burden as a percentage of gross income may well be *lower* than
> that of the middle class.

So the top 1% pay 39.4 % of iuncome taxes, yet that's not enough.

>
> By way of contrast, the bottom 20% of households earned 3.5% of
> income:
>
>
http://books.google.com/books?id=gbfTLG_HmGEC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=bottom+20+percentage+american+income&source=web&ots=WcZ1GISdAd&sig=jTUr2dE9Ivl2ywufbp8-Ei7ukyA
>
> So we're talking in essence about a drop-in-the-bucket wealth transfer
> from the rich, who wouldn't notice it any more than you'd notice a
> gallon of water taken out of your swimming pool, to those in deep
> poverty.

Oh I'm sure they'd notice it.
:-)

Dennis



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