Electile Dysfunction (Current students plz look!)

[G.Irish]

Per Forbes:

The US had a top rate that exceeded 90 percent through the 1950s and early 60s and a 70 percent top tax rate from 1971 through 1980. Then President Reagan got Congress to cut it to 50 percent starting in 1982.

Thank you for posting this. America's economy hummed right along in that era despite very high top tax rates. So the idea that rich people will all of a sudden decide they don't want to make more money, doesn't square with reality.

The problem I see is that the wealthy and corporations have successfully lobbied to cut their tax rates massively, and now that has contributed to ballooning deficits and wealth concentration. Do we need to go back to 70-90% top tax brackets? I don't think it needs to go to that point, but we have to starting roll back the successive decades of accumulated tax cuts and tax loopholes. Not to mention that massive tax evasion is a global problem that is straining governments around the world.

The far left people pushing for higher taxes in the wealthy are not wrong in a way. Wealthy people and corporations have used their clout to rig the tax code in their favor for over 40 years. But they're wrong in thinking that they can pay for a massive expansion of entitlements by just raising taxes on rich people. Countries that have an expansive social safety net have high tax rates across the board, not just on rich people. And keep in mind none of those countries are spending anywhere near what we do on their military, even as a percentage of GDP.

There are some things I want to see succeed like universal healthcare and better access to education but I am very much against throwing money at problems rather than pragmatically figuring out what works and can be cost effective before scaling up. People like to say 'free college for everyone!' without thinking about the fact that government backed loans is what distorted the market for higher education and driven massive tuition inflation.


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