Eoin Higgins at Common Dreams writes—'Ten Year Challenge' for 400 Wealthiest Americans Shows Fortunes Doubled Since 2009 While Tax Rates Dropped:
Exemplifying a national economy rigged in favor of the already rich, the wealthiest 400 people in the U.S. enjoyed a drop in their tax rate from 2009 to 2019 even as they enjoyed a drop in their tax rate.
University of Calfornia Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman—citing the social media meme known as the "ten year challenge"—crunched the numbers Sunday in a tweet, finding that the total wealth of the 400 richest Americans jumped from $1.27 trillion to $2.96 trillion. The tax rate fell from 27% to 23% in that time.
As Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price pointed out on Twitter, the real increase of the wealth was not double due to inflation, but was nonetheless a staggering 136%.
"Here's the thing," tweeted Price. "The way the system is set up, we're headed for another decade of this." [...]
As Business Insider explained, the jump in wealth is due to a number of factors, including taxes:
Zucman and Emmanuel Saez—another economist at the University of California he's partnered with—have argued that the relatively small tax burdens of the wealthy are the product of decisions made by American lawmakers, whether directly or through congressional gridlock. Tax avoidance has also become more common.
Congress has cut taxes on capital gains and estates over the years. And the top income tax rates were slashed six times since 1980, some with the support of Democrats, The Washington Post reported. In 2010, President Obama delayed ending the George W. Bush tax cuts by two years, and Congress allowed it to expire in 2013.
TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES
QUOTATION
“A lot of progress can be done at the national level, especially for large countries like the U.S., which has one quarter of world's GDP. So we don't have to ask permission of other countries to move in the direction of a progressive wealth tax. The United States could transform its property tax system into a progressive tax on net worth without asking permission to the rest of the world.”
~~Thomas Piketty, “Thomas Piketty: I Don't Care for Marx,” The New Republic (2014)
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2008—Obama family visits food bank, school on Thanksgiving Eve:
The Obama family made a surprise visit to a Chicago church food bank earlier today to help distribute meals, according to a pool report filed today by Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News. After 40 minutes or so, the soon-to-be first family visited with students at the parochial school attached to the church, where they answered questions and got in a little teasing at the expense of the Secret Service.
One of the most powerful simple statements from the pool report came from Obama: Asked why he'd brought his daughters along, he replied: "I want them to learn the importance of how fortunate they are and to make sure they're giving back."
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: McGahn ordered to testify. Appeals to come. New in Kushner’s portfolio: The Wall. NY-21's Ellen Beberman tells us WTF is up with Stefanik. Subpoenas drop around #RudyColludy. New Ukraine emails emerge. New Ukraine-gate name: Bud Cummins.
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