Author Topic: Atlantic Article "The New American Aristocracy"  (Read 204 times)

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Offline Michael Hardner

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About 1/2 way through this.  Seems to be a walkthrough of the factors influencing affluence.

Offline Michael Hardner

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http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/economy/us-middle-class-basics-study/index.html?sr=twCNN051718economy1106AMStory

Meanwhile, the United Way says 43% of American households can't afford the basics.

Offline cybercoma

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http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/economy/us-middle-class-basics-study/index.html?sr=twCNN051718economy1106AMStory

Meanwhile, the United Way says 43% of American households can't afford the basics.
That's probably about right when you consider that the median household income in the United States was $59,000 in 2016. That means half the households are making less than that and you're talking about 43% of the population which would be below that number still. Food, clothing, shelter, transportation and communication add up quickly.

Offline SirJohn

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About 1/2 way through this.  Seems to be a walkthrough of the factors influencing affluence.

Seems to be a long complaint about inequality. But inequality is built into Capitalism. As a member of the 9.9% I don't see that I benefited from any of the factors I've read thus far in this thing.

Some guy on the internet is fond of repeating a statistical factoid which suggests that if people want to avoid poverty (in the US) they need only do three things. Don't break the law, don't have kids till you get married, and finish school. Do those three things and you're most unlikely to be in poverty.

Now I agree that top 0.1% has greatly benefited over the past few decades, mostly due to bribing politicians in order to get the tax rules changed in their favour. Unfortunately, few politicians address this, including the likes of Trudeau and Morneau. Instead they aim their 'wealth tax' adjustments squarely at the 9.9% while studiously avoiding targeting the 0.1% group - of which they are a member. The easiest way to deal with the problem is to put a ceiling on tax discounts for investments. Right now you pay 15% on dividends, whether you make $1000 a year or $100 million a year from them. You also get a discount rate for capital gains. Again, without limit.  They need to impose a ceiling of something on the order of $100k-$150k a year and say everything about that gets taxed at the normal rate.
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum
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Offline Michael Hardner

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Quote
The poorest quintile of Americans pays more than twice the rate of state taxes as the top 1 percent does, and about half again what the top 10 percent pays.

That was a shocker to me.

Offline TimG

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About 1/2 way through this.  Seems to be a walkthrough of the factors influencing affluence.
Seems to be making the point that I have been making for awhile: there is no white privilege - only privilege conferred by wealth and connections. In the US, the tendency of graduates from ivy league schools in management positions to favor graduates from those same schools has had huge negative effect on social mobility. If people actually cared about diversity in business they would focus on requiring a diversity in educational/social backgrounds rather than skin color. 

It also expands on how regulations in the name of "protecting the public" create cartels that disproportionately benefit members of the cartels. Sometimes less regulation can lead to fairer outcomes.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 05:45:55 pm by TimG »
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Offline TimG

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That was a shocker to me.
I would not take that statement at face value. The bottom 80% of Americans only pay 15% of income taxes so I don't see it as very plausible. I would want to see the calculations supporting the statement before treating it as a fact.
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Offline Omni

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I would not take that statement at face value. The bottom 80% of Americans only pay 15% of income taxes so I don't see it as very plausible. I would want to see the calculations supporting the statement before treating it as a fact.

I think you may be getting confused about the difference between amounts and rates.
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Offline SirJohn

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That was a shocker to me.

The reason, though, is the states rely on consumption taxes as well as income taxes.
The 1% will pay hugely more income taxes, but it will be a lower percentage of their income, and the kicker is they get to write their income taxes off on their federal taxes. Under the new federal tax system they will only be able to write off about $10,000 in state taxes, though, so will have to start paying more federal taxes. The lowest quintile pays no state or federal income tax, of course.
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline kimmy

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I'm still reading this (and the original, for that matter) but thought I'd mention it here anyway:

"Forget the Atlantic's 9.9 Percent, the 1 Percent Are Still The Problem".

https://slate.com/business/2018/05/forget-the-atlantics-9-9-percent-the-1-percent-are-still-the-problem.html

 -k
Paris - London - New York - Kim City