Yesterday was the last day for Americans to file their 2023 taxes on time. What is the biggest difference between Tax Day this year and Tax Day in 1980? Millionaires pay a lot less. Between 1945 and 1980, American households that made $1 million or more paid an average of 50.1% of their income in federal taxes, according to a
What a heroic study of our tax system Judd and Tesnim have provided for us! No change in my appreciation for brilliant Elizabeth Warren ["Tax. The. Rich."] and revulsion for the greediest man in the Senate, Joe Manchin. And what an appropriate name for the Senator who fights to keep poor children food insecure while increasing tax benefits for corporations (many of whom are price gougers)--Crapo! I will share this article happily.
Meanwhile American leaders, media shrug and act like *there is nothing we can do* about income inequality, crumbling infrastructure etc etc when there is a simple solution that worked before in the US and works in other wealthy countries. Its beyond infuriating.
Who would ever vote for a republican? There aren't that many wealthy families in America so how are all these 'elected officials' in the pocket of corporations?
Great reporting and important information—as if most Americans will ever pay attention. Another not-so-minor item to mention is that the über-wealthy use another time-honored method to avoid taxation, which is to borrow against their accumulated capital and, thus, never get taxed on that capital since it’s never “sold.” Musk is perhaps the best exemplar of that phenomenon. His official pay at Tesla is $1/year, but since all his wealth is in stock, he can readily borrow as much as he needs without ever paying capital-gains taxes. If average Americans could only be taught to see how we’re all being swindled I would like to think that Bernie’s and Warren’s proposals for a modest wealth tax (1% per year for a billionaire? Are you kidding me? As if that would change Musk’s lifestyle?!) makes so much sense. Personally, I’d rather see billionaires go away entirely. How much money do you need to live on? The only thing it does to have such wealth sloshing around at the top is to severely distort our politics and influence-peddling in general—oh, and leave tens of millions of Americans, including millions of children, below the poverty line. As today’s GOP mantra goes, “Cruelty IS the point.”
Judd & Tesmin, thanks again for making me mad whilst I enjoy my morning coffee! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love you, but you have this tendency to pull the curtain back and reveal the worst among us! Our economy and government lives on a steady diet of greed and corruption. I’m not sure if there’s a way to fix it, short of allowing it to fail. But revealing the facts and exposing the lies and deceit is a monumental step in the right direction, and you do that on a daily/weekly basis! I often recall the words of Lord Axton (1887) “Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The next line in this quote attributed to Axton is “Great men are almost always bad men…” Can you be a great person without being a bad person? Hmmm.
Whenever a particular industry voices adamant opposition to a government program that’s designed to help lower income people, we can be certain that they are afraid of the competition. Consequently, their arguments against the proposal will be biased and “spun” (if not outright lies). Just look at the opposition to CFPB and FTC (and White House) efforts to reduce closing costs for homebuyers, led by the American Land Title Association and its members. Whatever they (or the tax prep industry) say, believe the opposite.
Love Elizabeth Warren's determination to hold these bad players accountable. Hate that my senator is Mike Crapo. My apologies. Red state Idaho would elect a dead rat as long as there is an R behind the name on the ballot.
Here in Florida, Jimmy Patronis is yammering that the Free IRS is intrusive and would be another way the "gubbermint" can spy on you. This guy is the CFO in Florida and their whole schtick is to blast the Federal Govt because it resonates with the Rednecks. Jimmy is an idiot! They do nothing in Florida to help the lower income or less fortunate. It's all about helping Pulte, Mosaic, Citadel, and all the other Right Wing Rich. SAD!! Jimmy wrongly states that people might forget to file their state income tax. News Flash JUMBO, there is no Florida State Income Tax. Buffoon!!
These are names of those who would see children starve: Joe, Mike and Chuck. Hmmm... I think they are all crap-o.
My 24 yo daughter tried the IRS filing system for three days and could not get anywhere, finally giving up on the morning of April 15th. She then turned to Intuit which I warned her would probably cost money and be as confusing as the IRS filing system. Guess what? It wasn't as complicated and she was deemed a freebie! The government's action against the prevaricating TurboTax musta worked because I don't think they want to give away anything.
As far as the unfair tax system, we know who to blame: Ronnie, Georgie and Donnie come to mind.
Reports such as this one always provokes wonder. For example, I wonder what effect revising the government revenue, i.e., tax code, to a flat tax system would have on politics? There would certainly be a ripple effect through industries that have evolved to profit from the progressive tax system and it's ridiculous complexity. At the same time, what would happen to all the money spent to pad election campaign coffers by corporations and individuals looking for big layoffs from tax avoidance?
Thanks for this. We tax too little and thus spend too little on things like supporting families. American government spends just 0.7% of GDP on family support compare to 3-4 times that of our peer countries.
I wrote a post, below, called "An Open Message To The Top 0.1%" that addresses some aspects of economic inequality.
Re Grassley and Tillis statements. If only these folks could listen and really hear the drivel that spews from their mouths! What if what the President is doing really IS good and helps many Americans. What if those people helped are their constituents? If their only purpose being a legislator is to further their now totally defunct party...you get the picture. Vote them OUT.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, the litany of greed and self-dealing among the GOP and the rich is disgusting. I am beyond tired of reading about it. For people who'd like a lot of data on how the system is financially rigged, check out the new book by Matthew Desmond, Poverty, By America.
What a heroic study of our tax system Judd and Tesnim have provided for us! No change in my appreciation for brilliant Elizabeth Warren ["Tax. The. Rich."] and revulsion for the greediest man in the Senate, Joe Manchin. And what an appropriate name for the Senator who fights to keep poor children food insecure while increasing tax benefits for corporations (many of whom are price gougers)--Crapo! I will share this article happily.
Meanwhile American leaders, media shrug and act like *there is nothing we can do* about income inequality, crumbling infrastructure etc etc when there is a simple solution that worked before in the US and works in other wealthy countries. Its beyond infuriating.
Who would ever vote for a republican? There aren't that many wealthy families in America so how are all these 'elected officials' in the pocket of corporations?
As usual, the Rich get Richer, and the rest of us are S C R E W E D
Great reporting and important information—as if most Americans will ever pay attention. Another not-so-minor item to mention is that the über-wealthy use another time-honored method to avoid taxation, which is to borrow against their accumulated capital and, thus, never get taxed on that capital since it’s never “sold.” Musk is perhaps the best exemplar of that phenomenon. His official pay at Tesla is $1/year, but since all his wealth is in stock, he can readily borrow as much as he needs without ever paying capital-gains taxes. If average Americans could only be taught to see how we’re all being swindled I would like to think that Bernie’s and Warren’s proposals for a modest wealth tax (1% per year for a billionaire? Are you kidding me? As if that would change Musk’s lifestyle?!) makes so much sense. Personally, I’d rather see billionaires go away entirely. How much money do you need to live on? The only thing it does to have such wealth sloshing around at the top is to severely distort our politics and influence-peddling in general—oh, and leave tens of millions of Americans, including millions of children, below the poverty line. As today’s GOP mantra goes, “Cruelty IS the point.”
Judd & Tesmin, thanks again for making me mad whilst I enjoy my morning coffee! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love you, but you have this tendency to pull the curtain back and reveal the worst among us! Our economy and government lives on a steady diet of greed and corruption. I’m not sure if there’s a way to fix it, short of allowing it to fail. But revealing the facts and exposing the lies and deceit is a monumental step in the right direction, and you do that on a daily/weekly basis! I often recall the words of Lord Axton (1887) “Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The next line in this quote attributed to Axton is “Great men are almost always bad men…” Can you be a great person without being a bad person? Hmmm.
Whenever a particular industry voices adamant opposition to a government program that’s designed to help lower income people, we can be certain that they are afraid of the competition. Consequently, their arguments against the proposal will be biased and “spun” (if not outright lies). Just look at the opposition to CFPB and FTC (and White House) efforts to reduce closing costs for homebuyers, led by the American Land Title Association and its members. Whatever they (or the tax prep industry) say, believe the opposite.
Love Elizabeth Warren's determination to hold these bad players accountable. Hate that my senator is Mike Crapo. My apologies. Red state Idaho would elect a dead rat as long as there is an R behind the name on the ballot.
Here in Florida, Jimmy Patronis is yammering that the Free IRS is intrusive and would be another way the "gubbermint" can spy on you. This guy is the CFO in Florida and their whole schtick is to blast the Federal Govt because it resonates with the Rednecks. Jimmy is an idiot! They do nothing in Florida to help the lower income or less fortunate. It's all about helping Pulte, Mosaic, Citadel, and all the other Right Wing Rich. SAD!! Jimmy wrongly states that people might forget to file their state income tax. News Flash JUMBO, there is no Florida State Income Tax. Buffoon!!
These are names of those who would see children starve: Joe, Mike and Chuck. Hmmm... I think they are all crap-o.
My 24 yo daughter tried the IRS filing system for three days and could not get anywhere, finally giving up on the morning of April 15th. She then turned to Intuit which I warned her would probably cost money and be as confusing as the IRS filing system. Guess what? It wasn't as complicated and she was deemed a freebie! The government's action against the prevaricating TurboTax musta worked because I don't think they want to give away anything.
As far as the unfair tax system, we know who to blame: Ronnie, Georgie and Donnie come to mind.
Thank you!
Thank you Judd and Tesnim. We remain in your debt!
Reports such as this one always provokes wonder. For example, I wonder what effect revising the government revenue, i.e., tax code, to a flat tax system would have on politics? There would certainly be a ripple effect through industries that have evolved to profit from the progressive tax system and it's ridiculous complexity. At the same time, what would happen to all the money spent to pad election campaign coffers by corporations and individuals looking for big layoffs from tax avoidance?
Thanks for this. We tax too little and thus spend too little on things like supporting families. American government spends just 0.7% of GDP on family support compare to 3-4 times that of our peer countries.
I wrote a post, below, called "An Open Message To The Top 0.1%" that addresses some aspects of economic inequality.
https://robertsdavidn.substack.com/p/an-open-message-to-the-top-01
Re Grassley and Tillis statements. If only these folks could listen and really hear the drivel that spews from their mouths! What if what the President is doing really IS good and helps many Americans. What if those people helped are their constituents? If their only purpose being a legislator is to further their now totally defunct party...you get the picture. Vote them OUT.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, the litany of greed and self-dealing among the GOP and the rich is disgusting. I am beyond tired of reading about it. For people who'd like a lot of data on how the system is financially rigged, check out the new book by Matthew Desmond, Poverty, By America.