Wide and growing income gaps

[hfojvt]

A state by state analysis

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3860

I have to note though - they look at two income gaps

1. The gap between the lowest quintile (20% of the population) and the highest quintile
2. The gap between the lowest quintile and the top 5%

and
income over $101,582 puts you in the top 20%
income over $186,000 puts you in the top 5%

according to census measures here http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/inequality/index.html

I also would note that policies like the payroll tax cut and the 73% Bush tax cut (Obama's plan to keep 73% (or more) of the Bush tax cuts) increase those gaps by giving more benefits to the top 20% than they do to the bottom 20%.

Under Obama's plan

the bottom 20% gets $14 billion in tax cuts
the top 20% gets $163 billion in tax cuts
the top 5% get $80 billion in tax cuts
the top 1% get $40 billion in tax cuts
the bottom 40% gets $42 billion in tax cuts


http://www.ctj.org/pdf/taxcompromise2010.pdf

Another $150 billion added to the wealth gap, but who's counting?

[Autumn]

1. Those numbers really suck

Good question, who's counting?

[hfojvt]

2. Bob MacIntyre is (at Citizens for Tax Justice)

http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/2012/11/obamas_proposed_extension_of_t.php

But he's updated his figures. Obama's plan makes permanent 78% of the Bush tax cuts, not 73%.

My bad, I was using 2011 data.

But he doesn't do a distributional analysis is this report http://www.ctj.org/pdf/obamabudgetfy2013.pdf

Also, I am not sure how the cost went from $301 billion to just $144 billion for 2012, although Obama has modified his plan some. Maybe the other number was for two years instead of just one, as it was about a two year extension of the Bush tax cuts. But it said 2011 cost $301 billion, and the new table shows only $144 billion in tax cuts for 2012.

[hfojvt]

3. yawn

what a boring topic

inequality? Who cares?

[Electric Monk]

4. It makes me sad...