(reprinted with permision from "For Love of Family and country")
I am tired of hearing about the
top 1% not paying their fair share. Though I am not in the top 1%, I am sick of
the slander and hate and more so the out right lie. Demonizing and preaching
punishment of one citizen to the benefit of another has no place in our
Republic.
A simple visit to the IRS and its vast data base can bring forth and shed a bright light on the main battle cry of the Democratic Party, our current president, Mr. Obama, and perhaps all those that say, “they should pay more!” A simple chart is all that is needed to demonstrate just how “fair” our tax system really is. And it will not take a statistician to discover an inconvenient truth in it all; our tax code is progressive and completely unfair in regards to people paying “their fair share”. It puts a tax premium on success and rises to meet every addition of income with its little book of 72,000 (?) plus pages of tax code aimed at those able to make it.
Our tax code is not fair; it is not fair to the top 50% who pay 97.75% of ALL Federal income tax. What happened to one country and all of us in this together? Our POTUS thinks these people, or as I would refer to them as citizens, should pay more than they already do. Shortly 50% of the tax payers will pay 100% of the federal income tax burden. When he said “you didn’t build this” with 50% not paying their fair share he was half right. Of course, he really wants the very top to pay more, those 1% at the very top that have built nothing on their own. We are lead to believe that they simply lived in the correct house, opened the door and had the windfall of monetary exuberance come crashing through and dump endless supplies of ill-gotten booty into their living room. They need to pay their fair share or as we will see, more of their fair share.
Let us peer into the tax tables of the IRS for a moment and look at what we find. I will be using the tables that display share of federal income tax paid be each group and the AGI share of income. For those that scream, “it’s not about income, it is about wealth”, I say, no it is not. Our tax code is not based on your wealth; it is based on your income. It is about what a citizen earns each year, not what they have managed to save and create over their life time or their heirs.
We will start with the year 1987, and I choose that because the AGI (adjusted cross income) was re-determined in 1986 so previous data is hard to compare. The time span I use is over 22 years so it should prove sufficient in its demonstration of “tax fairness”.
In 1987, the top 1% paid 24.81% of all Federal Income taxes. “Wow”, you say, “but they made more than that, right? They had to earn that much as well.” Well the IRS also grants us the ability to see the AGI for each sector to determine just what they made. In 1987 the top 1% had 12.32% share of the total AGI. They had a smaller share of the AGI but paid more taxes as a result of the tax code. Fair? I am not suggesting that they should only pay a percentage equivalent to their AGI share mind you; I only point out that “they” did not make 24.81% of the income.
Just for comparison, the bottom 50% paid 6.07% of all Federal income tax and brought home an AGI share of 15.63%.
So we have:
1987 top 1% top 10% Lower 50%
Income tax share: 24.81% 55.61% 6.07%
AGI share: 12.32% 36.90% 15.63%
As we proceed from 1987 to the current time of 2009, as far as the IRS tables go, we see a progression. And I’ll give you a hint, it progresses just like a success tax would progress; the rich pay more and the bottom 50% pay less, by a large amount. What does not quite correlate is the AGI share, though it increases for the top 1%, it does not increase by as much in comparison to the Federal Income tax paid. This would say the top 1% have increased the amount they pay for the rest of us yet have not made the same amount more in income. I will not ask the reader to feel sorry in any way but I must insist that in our pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness, fully armed with our unalienable rights why is it that one group of citizens must be so burdened by the rest of us? Why do some work in slavery for the rest of us? Why is it okay to demonize one citizen for the benefit of another? And please review the Clinton years when they paid a higher tax rate, even in those liberal-magic times the top 1% still did not pay the share they are paying now.
In 2009, the top 1%, you know “tax paying citizens”, pay a total of 36.73% of all Federal income taxes in the good ‘ole US of A; land of the free and home of the (taxed at a fair rate based on an imaginary feeling of moral goodness brought about by class war fare and wealth envy). The lower 50%, also citizens, pay 2.25%. The top 1% have increased their share from 24.81% to paying 36.73%!! That is a gain of 48%! Talk about fair. In the last 22 year span the top 1% have increased, through political compulsion, their personal support of the Federal Government (meaning the other 99%) by 48%! The top 10% of American citizens pay a grand total of 70.47% of all federal income taxes. How much more fair can it get? Though I admit, I am afraid of the answer.
Would our POTUS have us believe that each taxpayer in the top 10% should pay for 75% of the country? 80%? And some would suggest that they must have a far greater share of the income but again those pesky tables do not support this. The top 1% share of the AGI grew from 12.32% to a grand total of 16.93%. This is a 37% increase in AGI for a Federal Tax burden increase of 48%.
Mr. President, the rich, the top 1%, are paying more. They are paying a larger than life “fair” share. You are a disingenuous class warfare combatant and in no way a leader of merit when it comes to the citizens as a whole. You represent only one portion of this great Republic and only seek to further divide us.
A simple visit to the IRS and its vast data base can bring forth and shed a bright light on the main battle cry of the Democratic Party, our current president, Mr. Obama, and perhaps all those that say, “they should pay more!” A simple chart is all that is needed to demonstrate just how “fair” our tax system really is. And it will not take a statistician to discover an inconvenient truth in it all; our tax code is progressive and completely unfair in regards to people paying “their fair share”. It puts a tax premium on success and rises to meet every addition of income with its little book of 72,000 (?) plus pages of tax code aimed at those able to make it.
Our tax code is not fair; it is not fair to the top 50% who pay 97.75% of ALL Federal income tax. What happened to one country and all of us in this together? Our POTUS thinks these people, or as I would refer to them as citizens, should pay more than they already do. Shortly 50% of the tax payers will pay 100% of the federal income tax burden. When he said “you didn’t build this” with 50% not paying their fair share he was half right. Of course, he really wants the very top to pay more, those 1% at the very top that have built nothing on their own. We are lead to believe that they simply lived in the correct house, opened the door and had the windfall of monetary exuberance come crashing through and dump endless supplies of ill-gotten booty into their living room. They need to pay their fair share or as we will see, more of their fair share.
Let us peer into the tax tables of the IRS for a moment and look at what we find. I will be using the tables that display share of federal income tax paid be each group and the AGI share of income. For those that scream, “it’s not about income, it is about wealth”, I say, no it is not. Our tax code is not based on your wealth; it is based on your income. It is about what a citizen earns each year, not what they have managed to save and create over their life time or their heirs.
We will start with the year 1987, and I choose that because the AGI (adjusted cross income) was re-determined in 1986 so previous data is hard to compare. The time span I use is over 22 years so it should prove sufficient in its demonstration of “tax fairness”.
In 1987, the top 1% paid 24.81% of all Federal Income taxes. “Wow”, you say, “but they made more than that, right? They had to earn that much as well.” Well the IRS also grants us the ability to see the AGI for each sector to determine just what they made. In 1987 the top 1% had 12.32% share of the total AGI. They had a smaller share of the AGI but paid more taxes as a result of the tax code. Fair? I am not suggesting that they should only pay a percentage equivalent to their AGI share mind you; I only point out that “they” did not make 24.81% of the income.
Just for comparison, the bottom 50% paid 6.07% of all Federal income tax and brought home an AGI share of 15.63%.
So we have:
1987 top 1% top 10% Lower 50%
Income tax share: 24.81% 55.61% 6.07%
AGI share: 12.32% 36.90% 15.63%
As we proceed from 1987 to the current time of 2009, as far as the IRS tables go, we see a progression. And I’ll give you a hint, it progresses just like a success tax would progress; the rich pay more and the bottom 50% pay less, by a large amount. What does not quite correlate is the AGI share, though it increases for the top 1%, it does not increase by as much in comparison to the Federal Income tax paid. This would say the top 1% have increased the amount they pay for the rest of us yet have not made the same amount more in income. I will not ask the reader to feel sorry in any way but I must insist that in our pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness, fully armed with our unalienable rights why is it that one group of citizens must be so burdened by the rest of us? Why do some work in slavery for the rest of us? Why is it okay to demonize one citizen for the benefit of another? And please review the Clinton years when they paid a higher tax rate, even in those liberal-magic times the top 1% still did not pay the share they are paying now.
In 2009, the top 1%, you know “tax paying citizens”, pay a total of 36.73% of all Federal income taxes in the good ‘ole US of A; land of the free and home of the (taxed at a fair rate based on an imaginary feeling of moral goodness brought about by class war fare and wealth envy). The lower 50%, also citizens, pay 2.25%. The top 1% have increased their share from 24.81% to paying 36.73%!! That is a gain of 48%! Talk about fair. In the last 22 year span the top 1% have increased, through political compulsion, their personal support of the Federal Government (meaning the other 99%) by 48%! The top 10% of American citizens pay a grand total of 70.47% of all federal income taxes. How much more fair can it get? Though I admit, I am afraid of the answer.
Would our POTUS have us believe that each taxpayer in the top 10% should pay for 75% of the country? 80%? And some would suggest that they must have a far greater share of the income but again those pesky tables do not support this. The top 1% share of the AGI grew from 12.32% to a grand total of 16.93%. This is a 37% increase in AGI for a Federal Tax burden increase of 48%.
Mr. President, the rich, the top 1%, are paying more. They are paying a larger than life “fair” share. You are a disingenuous class warfare combatant and in no way a leader of merit when it comes to the citizens as a whole. You represent only one portion of this great Republic and only seek to further divide us.
Tables provided by the Tax Foundation (as I am
mathematically lazy): http://taxfoundation.org/article/summary-latest-federal-individual-income-tax-data-0
Total Income Tax Shares, 1980-2009 (Percent of federal income
tax paid by each group)
|
|||||
Year
|
Top 1%
|
Top 10%
|
Top 25%
|
Top 50%
|
Bottom 50%
|
1987
|
24.81%
|
55.61%
|
76.92%
|
93.93%
|
6.07%
|
1988
|
27.58%
|
57.28%
|
77.84%
|
94.28%
|
5.72%
|
1989
|
25.24%
|
55.78%
|
77.22%
|
94.17%
|
5.83%
|
1990
|
25.13%
|
55.36%
|
77.02%
|
94.19%
|
5.81%
|
1991
|
24.82%
|
55.82%
|
77.29%
|
94.52%
|
5.48%
|
1992
|
27.54%
|
58.01%
|
78.48%
|
94.94%
|
5.06%
|
1993
|
29.01%
|
59.24%
|
79.27%
|
95.19%
|
4.81%
|
1994
|
28.86%
|
59.45%
|
79.55%
|
95.23%
|
4.77%
|
1995
|
30.26%
|
60.75%
|
80.36%
|
95.39%
|
4.61%
|
1996
|
32.31%
|
62.51%
|
81.32%
|
95.68%
|
4.32%
|
1997
|
33.17%
|
63.20%
|
81.67%
|
95.72%
|
4.28%
|
1998
|
34.75%
|
65.04%
|
82.69%
|
95.79%
|
4.21%
|
1999
|
36.18%
|
66.45%
|
83.54%
|
96.00%
|
4.00%
|
2000
|
37.42%
|
67.33%
|
84.01%
|
96.09%
|
3.91%
|
2001
|
33.89%
|
64.89%
|
82.90%
|
96.03%
|
3.97%
|
2002
|
33.71%
|
65.73%
|
83.90%
|
96.50%
|
3.50%
|
2003
|
34.27%
|
65.84%
|
83.88%
|
96.54%
|
3.46%
|
2004
|
36.89%
|
68.19%
|
84.86%
|
96.70%
|
3.30%
|
2005
|
39.38%
|
70.30%
|
85.99%
|
96.93%
|
3.07%
|
2006
|
39.89%
|
70.79%
|
86.27%
|
97.01%
|
2.99%
|
2007
|
40.41%
|
71.20%
|
86.57%
|
97.11%
|
2.89%
|
2008
|
38.02%
|
69.94%
|
86.34%
|
97.30%
|
2.70%
|
2009
|
36.73%
|
70.47%
|
87.30%
|
97.75%
|
2.25%
|
Adjusted Gross Income Shares, 1980-2009 (Percent of total AGI
earned by each group)
|
|||||
Year
|
Top 1%
|
Top 10%
|
Top 25%
|
Top 50%
|
Bottom 50%
|
1987
|
12.32%
|
36.90%
|
60.75%
|
84.37%
|
15.63%
|
1988
|
15.16%
|
39.45%
|
62.44%
|
85.07%
|
14.93%
|
1989
|
14.19%
|
39.00%
|
62.28%
|
85.04%
|
14.96%
|
1990
|
14.00%
|
38.77%
|
62.13%
|
84.97%
|
15.03%
|
1991
|
12.99%
|
38.20%
|
61.85%
|
84.87%
|
15.13%
|
1992
|
14.23%
|
39.23%
|
62.47%
|
85.08%
|
14.92%
|
1993
|
13.79%
|
39.05%
|
62.45%
|
85.08%
|
14.92%
|
1994
|
13.80%
|
39.19%
|
62.64%
|
85.11%
|
14.89%
|
1995
|
14.60%
|
40.16%
|
63.37%
|
85.46%
|
14.54%
|
1996
|
16.04%
|
41.59%
|
64.32%
|
85.92%
|
14.08%
|
1997
|
17.38%
|
42.83%
|
65.05%
|
86.16%
|
13.84%
|
1998
|
18.47%
|
43.77%
|
65.63%
|
86.33%
|
13.67%
|
1999
|
19.51%
|
44.89%
|
66.46%
|
86.75%
|
13.25%
|
2000
|
20.81%
|
46.01%
|
67.15%
|
87.01%
|
12.99%
|
2001
|
17.53%
|
43.11%
|
65.23%
|
86.19%
|
13.81%
|
2002
|
16.12%
|
41.77%
|
64.37%
|
85.77%
|
14.23%
|
2003
|
16.77%
|
42.36%
|
64.86%
|
86.01%
|
13.99%
|
2004
|
19.00%
|
44.35%
|
66.13%
|
86.58%
|
13.42%
|
2005
|
21.20%
|
46.44%
|
67.52%
|
87.17%
|
12.83%
|
2006
|
22.06%
|
47.32%
|
68.16%
|
87.49%
|
12.51%
|
2007
|
22.83%
|
48.05%
|
68.71%
|
87.74%
|
12.26%
|
2008
|
20.00%
|
45.77%
|
67.38%
|
87.25%
|
12.75%
|
2009
|
16.93%
|
43.19%
|
65.81%
|
86.52%
|
13.48%
|
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