Redistribution, American Style: Take From the Poor and Give to the Rich
“It is thus a public service that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has issued a report showing that, at the state and local level, government is indeed engaged in redistribution — but it’s redistribution from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy.”
“The institute found that in 2015 the poorest fifth of Americans will pay, on average, 10.9 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes and the middle fifth will pay 9.4 percent. But the top 1 percent will pay states and localities only 5.4 percent of their incomes in taxes.”
“This gets to something else we don’t discuss much: Public policies in most other well-to-do countries push much harder against inequality than ours do. … After government transfers are taken into account, the good old USA soars to first in inequality.”
“There is also an unanticipated consequence of growing economic disparities: Because states and localities tax the wealthy less, ‘rising income inequality can make it more difficult for state tax systems to pay for needed services over time. The more income that goes to the wealthy, the slower a state’s revenue grows."
http://wonkwire.rollcall.com/2015/01/16/redistribution-american-style-take-poor-give-rich/
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