244 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 112 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 6/6/15

Who Pays Taxes in the US? Everyone but the Super-Rich

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   40 comments

Thom Hartmann
Message Thom Hartmann
Become a Fan
  (139 fans)

Taxes
Taxes
(Image by DonkeyHotey)
  Details   DMCA

Why are our seniors paying higher taxes on their social security benefits than billionaires pay on stocks?

The IRS released a new report that reveals the staggering amount of money that the top one-thousandth of the 1% in the US is hoarding.

While the top earners in the bottom 50 percent of Americans only make 36,000 dollars a year - the bottom earners in the top one-thousandth of the 1% "only make" more than 62 million dollars a year.

Sixty-two million dollars per year is what it takes to be a top one-thousandth one percenter -- and those are the poorest of the richest households -- on average the top earners make more than 160 million dollars a year.

That's 160 times richer than the average one percenter who only makes about 1.5 million dollars.

That's an obscene concentration of wealth -- but that's not the most outrageous part of the story, because those top earners are paying a lower tax rate than working class Americans and retirees.

The highest tax rate on income taxes in 2014 was 39.6 percent for households earning more than 439,000 dollars -- and the majority of US households paid an income tax rate of between 15 percent and 28 percent.

Those are households of plumbers, bus drivers, doctors and engineers -- the average working Americans who create real wealth for the economy.

Meanwhile the banksters and vulture capitalists -- the billionaires who make most of their income by moving money back and forth -- pay a maximum rate of 20 percent of their earnings from the stock market.

How does this happen? Why did Mitt Romney pay a lower effective tax rate in 2011 than a waitress earning $2.13 an hour?

It started with the memo that Lewis Powell wrote in 1971 -- just a few months before Nixon nominated him to the Supreme Court.

In no unclear terms -- Powell wrote: "Business must learn the lesson, long ago learned by labor and other self-interest groups. This is the lesson that political power is necessary; that such power must be cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination -- without embarrassment and without the reluctance which has been so characteristic of American business."

And for the last 40 years -- business has followed Powell's advice to a "T": by taking over our education system; purchasing the nation's newspapers, TV and radio stations; filling the courts with activist judges; and filling Washington with lobbyists and corporate-owned lawmakers.

And what have they done with that power?

They've rigged the system against the average American and in favor of themselves.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 7   Well Said 5   Supported 5  
Rate It | View Ratings

Thom Hartmann Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Thom Hartmann is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program on the Air America Radio Network, live noon-3 PM ET. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights," "We The People," "What Would Jefferson Do?," "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

S&P Blames Republicans, Mainstream Media Fails to Report It

Globalization Is Killing The Globe: Return to Local Economies

The Uncanny, Frightening Ways That Trump's America Mirrors Hitler's Germany

The Great Tax Con Job

The Truth about the Trust Fund-- Destroying Social Security to Destroy the Two Party System

The Deciding Moment: The Theft of Human Right

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend