Why Are We Afraid to Tax the Super-Rich?

[Swede]

In the 1950s the marginal tax rate on those earning more than $3 million a year (in today’s dollars) was 91 percent. By 1990 it was 28 percent. The IRS says that the top 400 richest tax filers actually paid a rate of just 16 percent in 2007 (the latest numbers we have). Yep, the richest earners — people who took in an average of $343 million each — probably paid a lower rate than you did. Something to consider as you sign your 2009 return.

By the way, those 400 people who do so well on tax day have a combined net worth of nearly $1.37 trillion. (According to Forbes Magazine their wealth has gone up on average by more than 16 percent over the past year — the worst economic year since the Great Depression during which 29 million Americans are without work or forced into part-time jobs. )


http://www.alternet.org/story/146020/why_are_we_afraid_to_tax_the_superrich

[El Supremo]

1. Because they run the government.

[rurallib]

5. be like taxing your owners.

[Echo In Light]

21. Run, or, OWN

[mdmc]

2. It seems like I pay over 30% in taxes when it is all said and done

:(

[onenote]

3. clearly things are out of whack, but I'd be curious to see what the actual rate was in the 1950s

taking into account various loopholes etc. My understanding is that someone would have had to have been brain dead to allow the 91 percent rate to actually apply to them.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Because they employ the politicians who could raise taxes on them.

[piratefish08]

6. follow the money

it all leads to DC in one form or another.

[hobbit709]

8. +1000

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. I would have to say "global economy" and "influence"

With modern advances, banking, and the internet... the super rich can quite literally get up and leave and take their residence elsewhere. Such a feat in the 50's would be VERY labor intensive to maintain business ties.

Also, more importantly... the super wealthy ARE the people writing the laws.
Every single congressman has more money thrown at them than they know what to do with. Money = free speech, remember?
Put a few earmarks and loopholes in each bill and rich are just happy.

[Gman2]

9. If we tax them, they will punish us, like the rich did to Chavez.

They threaten and wail, that they will leave the country, or hide their profits, or ? So, we are supposed to give up, and allow them to own us.

[The Straight Story]

10. Our politicians fear them more than us, and they give more than votes to them (nt)

[notadmblnd]

11. if they're taxed they might stop trickling down on us

and we can't have that happen now, can we? Collectively they support us all and allow us all to live, not the other way around as most of us would think:sarcasm:

[ananda]

12. "we" aren't afraid at all.

It's the congresscritters o w n e d by the rich who
don't want to tax them.

[notadmblnd]

13. so set them in they're bouncy chairs and put the music on!

[mrcheerful]

14. Because the super rich have been very good at creating myths about wealth

They got Joe the not real plumber types convinced that through hard work they too will be super rich some day. Remember they also got nit wits to believe that by putting some of their retirement money into 401k's that they would be walking on exotic beach's in their golden years, while down playing the risks of the stock market.

They also got them to believe that if the super rich had their taxes lowered jobs would be created, reality is that lower taxes doesn't mean more jobs in fact job growth slows or stops when the taxes are lowered. The super rich count on 2 things, the average american is dumb and 2, the average american doesn't understand the tax system, they only think income is taxable because their income is taxed so if someone has more money they are taxed more.

[KansDem]

19. That was the biggest lie of the latter 20th century...

That lowering taxes would enable the super rich to "re-invest" in America and that would create jobs. That was the Reagan lie.

What happened? The super rich took their new-found wealth and:
1) Hid it in off-shore tax havens. UBS Bank in Switzerland has something like 52,000 secret accounts of American tax cheats;
2) Invested in foreign companies, especially those that pay their workers peanuts;
3) Moved jobs offshore to foreign countries.

They did not re-invest in America: unemployment went up as jobs disappeared.

[Marr]

23. No matter the crisis of the moment, the wealthy will always claim that

tax cuts are the means of solving it.

If our biggest problem was vicious dinosaurs roaming the land, they'd offer tax cuts as the appropriate response.

[Romulox]

15. I've been told several times here on DU that it's because it anger them, and that any

benefits that accrue to the American people from such a tax should be considered "welfare"... :wtf:

[blindpig]

16. It is not fear but inability.

Do you think that the government that they own is gonna do that?

[unblock]

17. because the super rich are able to fund opposing candidates / primary challengers

or even self-finance their own elections.

you might find some individual congresscritters willing to stand up for principle in the face of this, but they won't be able to forge a majority when so many of their peers are too cowardly to risk their temp jobs to actually help the country.

[guitar man]

18. because if we do

They will ship all the jobs to China and Mexico.

:sarcasm:

[gorfle]

20. Two reasons:

First of all, the super-rich interests in this country, including corporations, spend hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying and "campaign contributions" to make sure that policies friendly to their interests are kept in place.

Second of all, the super-rich can live anywhere in the world they want to. Put to harsh a squeeze on them and they will simply move to some place more financially convenient.

[SlingBlade]

22. Because we keep electing Corporate Shills who call themselves

democrats. At least with the Re-Puke's ya know what the hell your getting
These back stabbing sons a bitches are WORSE than Re-Pukes.
They not only kill the chance for reform, They kill even the HOPE of reform.

You think NAFTA was bad, And it is, Just wait until these fuck heads get this
corporate piece of shit health care bill through.

Thanks a lot Obama.
Your fucking burnt toast come November !

[belpejic]

24. We're not.

Our bought and paid for government "representatives" are.

[Xenotime]

25. I thought it was all supposed to change when Obama got into office.

[One_Life_To_Give]

26. 1950's had 25% Capital Gains Rate

Todays Bush Taxcut Cap Gains Rate stands at 15%. When the Cuts retire next year Capital Gains will return to 20% while Dividends rates return to 39%.

Truth is almost nobody actually paid the really high tax rates of the 40's and 50's. They found other ways to bring in their incomes so it was taxed at lower rates.

[OHdem10]

27. These are the Elites-otherwise the Governing Class.

[asdjrocky]

28. We're not afraid.

The politicians are.

[CrispyQ]

29. Because the whining that would ensue would drown out the combined noise of the entire universe. --nt