Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Economy
In reply to the discussion: Weekend Economists Wild, Wild, World Roundup February 17-19, 2012 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)22. Don’t Tax the Rich. Tax Inequality Itself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/opinion/dont-tax-the-rich-tax-inequality-itself.html?_r=1
THE progressive reformer and eminent jurist Louis D. Brandeis once said, We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both. Brandeis lived at a time when enormous disparities between the rich and the poor led to violent labor unrest and ultimately to a reform movement.
Over the last three decades, income inequality has again soared to the sort of levels that alarmed Brandeis. In 1980, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans made 9.1 percent of our nations pre-tax income; by 2006 that share had risen to 18.8 percent slightly higher than when Brandeis joined the Supreme Court in 1916.
Congress might have countered this increased concentration but, instead, tax changes have exacerbated the trend: in after-tax dollars, our wealthiest 1 percent over this same period went from receiving 7.7 percent to 16.3 percent of our nations income.
What we call the Brandeis Ratio the ratio of the average income of the nations richest 1 percent to the median household income has skyrocketed since Ronald Reagan took office. In 1980 the average 1-percenter made 12.5 times the median income, but in 2006 (the latest year for which data is available) the average income of our richest 1 percent was a whopping 36 times greater than that of the median household...
THE progressive reformer and eminent jurist Louis D. Brandeis once said, We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both. Brandeis lived at a time when enormous disparities between the rich and the poor led to violent labor unrest and ultimately to a reform movement.
Over the last three decades, income inequality has again soared to the sort of levels that alarmed Brandeis. In 1980, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans made 9.1 percent of our nations pre-tax income; by 2006 that share had risen to 18.8 percent slightly higher than when Brandeis joined the Supreme Court in 1916.
Congress might have countered this increased concentration but, instead, tax changes have exacerbated the trend: in after-tax dollars, our wealthiest 1 percent over this same period went from receiving 7.7 percent to 16.3 percent of our nations income.
What we call the Brandeis Ratio the ratio of the average income of the nations richest 1 percent to the median household income has skyrocketed since Ronald Reagan took office. In 1980 the average 1-percenter made 12.5 times the median income, but in 2006 (the latest year for which data is available) the average income of our richest 1 percent was a whopping 36 times greater than that of the median household...
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
69 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
Anarchism Is Not What You Think It Is -- And There's a Whole Lot We Can Learn from It
Demeter
Feb 2012
#5
Why Going 'Back To Normal' Is No Longer An Option for the American Economy -- And Where We're Headed
Demeter
Feb 2012
#15
Runaway Greed Is Destroying America: Should There Be a Lid on How Much Someone Can Make?
Demeter
Feb 2012
#21