General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: President Obama has done more to help the poor and middle class than any President since LBJ [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)the facts of the matter are that ATRA, by itself, gives permanent tax CUTS of $666 billion to the top 1% over the next decade.
Inequality, as I mentioned before in a thread almost nobody read, is typically measured in two ways
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%
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021824827
So bringing $50,000 into the argument is a red herring. $50,000 is not in the bottom quintile.
The tax cuts of ATRA, by various income groups are also in that link, to repeat
"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 "
except that was yearly, and the final plan, over the next decade looks like this
bottom 20% - $111 billion
next quintile - $259 billion
middle quintile - $333 billion
next quintile - $592 billion
next 15% - $1,073 billion
top 4% - $666 billion (how evil)
top 1% - $666 billion (evil again)
top 20% - $2,405 billion
the math says that giving $666 billion in tax cuts to the top 1% and giving $111 billion in tax cuts to the bottom 20% is gonna increase inequality, and NOT decrease it.
Of course, like Michael Moore famously said, we live in fictitious times, so our supposedly progressive President tells us the fiction, that since the tax CUT of the top 1% was reduced from $1.3 trillion to just $666 billion that taxes have been increased on the rich.
And most Americans seem to be too stupid to get upset about such an unfair tax cut, because they are just happy that their own taxes did not go up by $900. Hey, as long as I get my own $900 who cares if those in the top 1% gets $34,000?