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April 15, 2008 at 07:49:58
by Holly Sklar Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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When it comes to cutting taxes for the wealthy, President Bush can truly say, "Mission accomplished." The richest 1 percent of Americans received about $491 billion in tax breaks between 2001 and 2008. That's nearly the same amount as U.S. debt held by China -- $493 billion -- in the form of Treasury securities. Do you want our government to mortgage more of our nation's future to finance tax breaks for the rich? Tax cuts have already helped the richest 1 percent -- whose annual incomes average about $1.5 million -- increase their share of the nation's income to a higher level than any year since 1928 on the eve of the Great Depression.
Wall Street's five biggest firms paid "a record $39 billion in bonuses for 2007, a year when three of the companies suffered the worst quarterly losses in their history" and are eliminating thousands of jobs as losses mount from the subprime mortgage market collapse, reports Bloomberg.
The International Monetary Fund says the United States is in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Yet, we are borrowing money with interest to finance tax cuts for Wall Street executives.
For Americans below the top 1 percent, the tax cuts have been a giant swindle. The bottom 99 percent of taxpayers were left with a bill of $3.74 in debt for every $1 in federal tax cuts from 2001 to 2006, reports Citizens for Tax Justice. Only the top 1 percent came out ahead.
Meanwhile, the federal budgets for environmental protection and housing for the elderly have been slashed more than 20 percent since 2001, adjusted for inflation, the Community Development Block Grant budget is down 32 percent, and the lack of health insurance is an epidemic.
Most households aren't even earning as much as they did in 1999, adjusting for inflation. But the 400 taxpayers with the highest incomes doubled their incomes between 2002 and 2005.
According to the latest IRS data, which excludes tax-exempt interest income from state and local government bonds, the richest 400 taxpayers reported an average $214 million each on their federal income tax returns in 2005 -- up from $104 million in 2002.
As the Wall Street Journal observed, "It's also important to remember that these figures don't represent wealth or even lifetime earnings -- merely income for a single year."
Thanks to tax cuts, it's now common for the nation's richest bosses to pay taxes at a lower rate than workers. The 400 richest taxpayers paid only 18 percent of their income in federal individual income taxes in 2005 --- down from 30 percent in 1995.
"The drop in effective tax rates for the top 400 filers," the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports, "worked out to a tax reduction of $25 million per filer in 2005." It would take 673 average workers earning $37,149 a year to reach $25 million today.
While tax cuts help the superrich compete over who has the biggest submarine-carrying superyacht, Katrina survivors are being hit with foreclosures, and neglected levees and bridges around the country are a disaster waiting to happen.
Most of the provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. President Bush wants to make them permanent.
The richest 1 percent of households would receive nearly $1.2 trillion in tax cuts from 2009 through 2018, reports the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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| 7 comments |
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I am voting a straight Democratic
ticket...and hopefully there will be some new fresh faces running against the incumbants in the Democratic party...need to get rid of as many "blue dog" Dem's as possible, too! Those who will not honor their oath of office..look out! by Susan Nelsen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 287 comments) on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:07:21 AM  (0+)
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Tax dollars gone to the Pentagon
Military Industrial busy busy boys Complex yet simple very big toys prima facie reason bald faced lie peace is treason buy buy buy funding war and bombs galore not another trip to the grocery store D o D why oh why? why can’t we diversify? space-based missiles, tanks, and planes components of the same refrains if the goals are defense and protecting us we’ve paid our tolls so let’s discuss new levees, and schools, a bridge or two we understand that’s not what you do with all the billions we give to you but if you could spare a few dollars for more pedestrian places rather than funding political races we might solve the real problems that face us by jeffreyleonard (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments) on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:28:49 AM (0+)
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Tax Revenue
Holly, one thing you don't mention, though, is that the amount of Tax Revenue to the Federal Government has increased virtually every year since Bush's tax cuts. This is an important point to make, especially today of all days. The Fed is estimating record revenues in 2008 after coming off a record year for 2007. 2007 saw a 32% increase of tax revenue from 1999. by Matthew Griffin (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 35 comments) on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:25:34 PM (0+)
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Remember this
None of the economic tyranny associated with the Bush administration could have been accomplished without the assistance of Democrats in Congress. Nor has the present Democrat controlled Congress done anything effective to address crushing economic inequality. by Joel S. Hirschhorn (141 articles, 50 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 546 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 at 2:40:59 PM (0+)
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Tax the Rich - Feed the Poor
till we have no poor no more (Ten Years After) Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill NYTimes: Consumer groups and labor leaders say the tax provisions in the latest version of the Foreclosure Prevention Act amount to corporate welfare. Senator Chris Dodd, D-CT, main author of the Senate bill, said the measure did not live up to its name. Instead of staving off home foreclosures, it's really an economic stimulus package bent on serving industry. by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 at 10:25:21 PM (0+)
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You want higher taxes?
I find it interesting that none of the people here own a business that employees people. Yet all claim that business owners are evil rich people and should be taxed until they have no money. I would like to point out that taxes are for government employees and expenses. This is not a redistribution or communist collection of wealth to redistribute to the poor. That is what your local church or charity does. Oddly I’ve found most business owners when they start out are far poorer than the government people living off their work, through exorbitant taxes. Most businesses fail because of the tax burden. The ones that servive suffer. I was a government pig for many years feeding from the troth of the tax payer. After close to twenty years of service, I was making almost $100,000 a year. (That was ten years ago) My friends that owned small businesses were making far less. I have known at least two people personally that had to live in their business ilegaly to survive. Not in an apartment above or below, but in a closet, or in a car parked behind the business. One sandwich shop owner constantly complained that he was working for the government not himself. I did his accounting for him for free and found he could not afford to pay taxes and his employees. He could not stop paying taxes, so he had to let go his employees. 5 people that were in as desperate a position as him (the dishwasher and cook were also homeless living in a vacant warehouse) lost their jobs, because he could no longer help them. Anyone looking at the cash flow through the business would think the guy was rolling in money. It was not him that was getting rich. It was the government (local, state, and federal). Higher taxes means richer government workers and more poor homeless people for them to claim they are helping. Sorry, higher taxes is not the answer. by Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 990 comments [34 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008 at 12:14:14 AM (0+)
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Reply: so solly
i think that raising taxes on people making above 250 k a year won't put them on the street. of course make a higher bracket for over 500 k and even higher for those above 750k and 1 mill. it could just be at 2% increments. also taxes on kapital gains do not have to be 15 % why not the same as earned income. like us who have a dog day afternoon, as well. cry, cry, cry just like johnny ray. wolfie will cry a river over the lamborghini dealers that will close. boo hoo and ciao by Wolfie (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1208 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008 at 12:36:25 AM (0+)
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