Sunday, December 15th, 2019

What could the US afford if it raised billionaires’ taxes? We do the math

Author: Michael Linden
Source: The Guardian (U.K.)
Publication Date: Fri 13 Dec 2019 06.00 EST
Link: What could the US afford if it raised billionaires’ taxes? We do the math

Stephan: With their tax cut the Republicans pulled off one of the greatest grifts in American history. They screwed the middle class like being mugged in an alley. So what would be the effect if we returned to the tax rates of the 40s and 50s when the modern American middle class was being created? You will be amazed, here's the math. If you voted Republican you cost yourself thousands of dollars. Sorry sucker.

Illustration: Tim Lahan for Guardian US

If the richest 1% of American households paid at the same rates they did in the 40s and 50s, the change could be transformative.

“Every billionaire is a policy failure.” So says a key adviser to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez herself says that it’s wrong to have a “system that allows billionaires to exist ” alongside poverty. And the New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo recently called for us to “abolish billionaires”.

For most of the last four decades, the gains from economic growth have flowed overwhelmingly to the rich. Much of those gains to the rich weren’t “earned” in any traditional sense, but rather extracted, excess profits squeezed out of a system designed to favor those who already have power, position and wealth. Today, the top 1% of Americans own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. It’s no wonder “abolishing billionaires” has become a rallying cry.

But what […]

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