In the United States, we favor progressive income tax. It is a taxing mechanism in which the taxing authority charges more taxes as the income of the taxpayer increases. A lower tax is collected from taxpayers earning less. The higher class is affected more by this taxation, because they are taxed higher than the middle and lower class. Many people argue that this taxation is not fair, because the higher class, just like the middle and low class, work for their money, and should not be punished for their wealth by paying higher. “Fairness under a proportional or flat tax emphasizes equality: Everyone tax should be subject to the same tax rules, and therefore, everyone should pay the same tax rate and bear the same relative tax burden.” Any of the working classes will bear some type of burden, but this type of taxation ensures that every citizen is taxed fairly and equally. …show more content…
“... We must make it clear beyond peradventure that our aim is to distribute the burden of supporting the Government more equitable than the present; that we intent to treat rich man and poor man on the basis of absolute equality, and that we regard it as equally fatal to true democracy to do or permit injustice to the one as to do or permit injustice to the other.” The progressive tax does not ensure the fairness to the higher class by increasing their taxes, just because they earn more money. It makes it harder for the higher class to keep the money that they have earned rightfully and use it to promote their career or future. “As Americans we should insist on equality in our tax code -- and begin the next millennium by making the progressive income tax an oddity of our history, not a burden of our
In this article by Sean Mcelwee(2014) he talks about why income inequality is the toughest issue America will face in the next few decades. In the article, Why income inequality is America’s biggest (and most difficult) problem, Mcelwee(2014) believes that after the studies he has seen, the most effective way to solve the policy issue of income inequality is by higher taxes on income and wealth. However, the rich would never buy into this solution, because it would take more of their wealth, when the wealthy are trying to maximize their money returns. Mcelwee (2014) also talks about how when a family is wealthy, money tends to stay in the family for 10-15 generations, which is also true for families with lower incomes as stated here by
I believe that his point on the gap between the rich and the poor is completely accurate. The inequality between social classes and the lack of spreading of wealth and property needs to have some reform. The fact that our government is being swayed by the bank accounts of the one percent is not beneficial to the American people. There was a quote in the article by Louis Brandeis that states “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.”
history but it provokes an angry reaction from the American Left. The bill reduced personal income tax rates by 25 percent in three annual increments, cut capital gains and estate taxes, and reduced business taxes.” The illogical point was cutting taxes as the same rate for everyone. While several industries and high income earners received numerous benefits, low income earners still suffered financial burden because of “trickle-down economics.” In fact, federal income tax rates cut significantly for the wealthiest 20 percent of taxpayers.
Nowadays the goal of the republican party is to keep conservative values in the american people and the government; this was one of the main reasons why Ronald Reagan won his presidency in 1981. One of Reagan’s policies while in the presidency was the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, this act was implemented to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to encourage economic growth through reductions in individual income tax rates, the expensing of depreciable property, incentives for small businesses, and incentives for savings, and for other purposes. However, even with this the rich still had ways to keep their taxes low. According to the documentary, “Inequality For All,” Robert Reich says, “The rich will find ways to avoid paying more taxes, courtesy of clever accountants and tax attorneys. But this has always been the case, regardless of where the tax rate is set.”
The income tax would try to even the playing field, so the rich would have to pay higher taxes while the poor pay smaller taxes. Also, the income tax would serve as payment for the government so in turn they can pay for different areas of
During the times before the progressive era, as I've mentioned previously, wealth distribution was very unfair. As Christopher Klein puts it, “The great wealth accumulated by the “robber barons” came at the expense of the masses. By 1890, the wealthiest 1 percent of American families owned 51 percent of the country’s real and personal property, while the 44 percent at the bottom owned only 1.2 percent” (Klein). This led to outrage as commoners learned of the lavish lifestyle that the top earners were living when they were struggling to put food on the table. Workers protested this inequality among other problems they had with corporate trusts, such as unfair wages and harsh working conditions.
The progressive tax was a flat tax that rose progressively to the top of the income bracket. The progressive tax was ratified and in 1913 and Congress enacted the income tax of 1 to 7 percent
Income Inequality in the United States Are you the "99 percent" or are you the "1 percent" ? In the United States, nationals are set in social classes based upon their salary. This motto focuses on the abundance of the wealthiest and the rest. As indicated by the article "We are the 99 percent" by Brian Shelter, protestors are battling for more equivalent dispersion of wage. They are utilizing online networking like Twitter, Skype, Tumblr, Facebook and more to Arrange occasions and advance their reason.
65% for the “upper middle” bracket 19% of the U.S population. And a whopping 275% of taxes for the 1% of the U.S. These numbers undeniably show a non “equal” society but one out for the 1% and other high rollers. America isn’t protecting the people at the top nor the bottom.
Should America implement a flat tax? According to Steve Forbes “For many years, people have said, ‘Make the rich pay more,’ and many politicians have said, ‘The rich people need to pay their fair share,’” (Forbes) but what do we think is really fair?
There once was a donkey and an elephant that lived together in not-so-perfect harmony. Their relationship is like the cardinal directions – North and South; they are the complete opposite of each other. The donkey is more optimistic and truth-seeking while the elephant, on the other hand, is cynical and deceitful. “What is a great solution to help our country progress?” pondered the donkey. “Well…I believe if all citizens of America would pay their taxes..uh.. we would be just fine.”
When taxes are cut on the wealthy then the middle class and the poor have to make up for the difference. This is a serious problem because the wealthy are able to earn more money off their stock earnings and not have to work while the middle class workers take home less money because they are forced to pay more in
The article says, “While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall.” (Stiglitz 2011) While the rich are getting higher incomes prices the poor are getting higher income by taking it from the one in the middle which therefore, makes them get a lower income percentage. America has fallen behind because of not being an equal country to the population by the income equality there is a huge gap between the income being earned by the poor and the rich. The rich are wealthy and the poor depend on the government for everything. As stated in the article, “America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride.
But, taxing the rich more also wouldn’t be impartial that fair because the government already wastes much of the money pay they collect. Even though the wealthy have a higher income and can afford it, most of the wealthy worked hard to get where they are now. If we make the Making the rich pay higher taxes will have advantages and disadvantages as well.
Do you ever think of why should or shouldn’t the rich people pay more tax than others? Nowadays, people are arguing about the fairness of paying more tax. Statistics have proven that the rich have paid the majority of U.S. income taxes. A person making $100,000 will pay a higher percentage of his income in taxes than a person making $20,000 for instance. According to the Congressional Budget Office, “The 10% of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes.