June 27, 2003

A Classless Society?

If the President wants to talk about class warfare, he and his contributors have been firing cannonshots for quite a while, a new IRS report shows.

The data, in a report that the I.R.S. released last night, shows that the average income of the 400 wealthiest taxpayers was almost $174 million in 2000. That was nearly quadruple the $46.8 million average in 1992. The minimum income to qualify for the list was $86.8 million in 2000, more than triple the minimum income of $24.4 million of the 400 wealthiest taxpayers in 1992.

[snip]

Over the nine years reviewed in the new report, the incomes of the top 400 taxpayers increased at 15 times the rate of the bottom 90 percent of Americans; their average income rose 17 percent, to $27,000, from 1992 to 2000.

But the tax rate for those top 400 increased at a much slower rate, "from 1 percent of all taxes in 1992 to 1.6 percent in 2000, when their tax bills averaged $38.6 million each." Progressive taxation, huh? And this data doesn't include the Bush tax cuts from 2001 through 2003; when those are factored in, "the average tax bill for the top 400 would have been about $30.4 million — a savings of $8.3 million, or more than a fifth, according to an analysis of the I.R.S. data by The New York Times. That would have resulted in an average tax rate of 17.5 percent." As Bush the First used to say, "Don't cry for me, Argentina."

We need another revolution.

Posted by Linkmeister at June 27, 2003 09:13 AM
Comments

Don't confuse rate with share. Using your numbers, the 400 richest paid a share of total taxes 60% greater than they did in 1992. As for progressivity, the 400 represent perhaps 0.0000025% of the adult population and pay 1.6% of taxes. Lastly, you imply that all such folks are Republican contributors. You would be very surprised at how many of them support Democrats.

Your logic is tainted by envy and your class warfare argument is sophomoric. Time to grow up.

Posted by: Jim at January 3, 2004 03:16 PM