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One of the biggest unintended consequences of Republicans passing arguably the most unpopular tax cut in history is the fact that Americans are now considerably more poised to support tax increases on the nation's wealthiest individuals.
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first floated the idea of putting a marginal tax rate of 70 percent on people earning more than $10 million, it was quickly labeled "radical," a term the consummate Washington norm disruptor embraced. But a new Politico/Morning Consult poll found the proposal was more popular than not, with 45 percent support versus 32 percent opposition. (A recent Hill/HarrisX poll found even higher support at 59 percent.)
The tax plan floated by 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren garners even more support. Warren's proposal to levy a 2 percent tax on those with a net worth exceeding $50 million and a 3 percent tax on those worth more than $1 billion enjoys the support of fully 61 percent of Americans, while only drawing 20 percent opposition.
More generally, the poll found that 76 percent of registered voters say the wealthiest Americans should be paying more in taxes. Those are basically "wow" numbers after several decades of tax-cut hysteria driving national politics.
“There is a deep wellspring in terms of perception of unfairness in the economy that’s been tapped into here that either didn’t exist five years ago or existed and had not had a chance to be expressed,” Michael Cembalest, chairman of market and investment strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Politico.
Digging further into the Politico/Morning Consult poll demonstrates the depth of that perception of inequity. The poll found that 57 percent of respondents said low-income earners pay "too much" in taxes, and 58 percent said middle-income earners pay too much. Those who said both categories pay "too little" were in the single digits.
The polar opposite is true for the upper income bracket and corporations: 63 percent of respondents said the top-bracket earners pay "too little," while only 9 percent said they pay too much. Similarly, 66 percent said corporations pay too little in taxes, with just 8 percent saying they pay too much.
The fact of the matter is that public opinion on the topic has been in the process of reversing itself for at least a decade now, ever since the Great Recession shook up the economy, highlighted corporate greed, and Occupy Wall Street introduced the terms "income inequality" and "the 99 percent" into a newly evolving zeitgeist.
Republicans, by virtue of being preternaturally out of touch with the everyday concerns of most Americans, managed to miss the flashing red lights and instead passed tax cuts that only served to highlight and exacerbate growing inequities across the country. Democrats are now poised to not only campaign on the change in public sentiment but to actually pass legislation that could correct some of the havoc GOP tax policies are now wreaking on America’s future.
As Sen. Warren said when she was asked whether she would try to moderate her tax proposal should she win the Democratic primary: "Why on earth would I do that? It makes no sense. I think I’ve already lost the billionaire vote.”