We don't usually reprint an article from another site in its entirety but this article has the kind of bullet points we should memorize.
The numbers reveal the deadening effects of
inequality in our country, and confirm that tax avoidance, rather than a lack of
middle-class initiative, is the cause.
November 19,
2012 |
1. Only THREE PERCENT of the very rich are
entrepreneurs.
According to both Marketwatch and economist Edward Wolff, over 90 percent of
the assets owned by millionaires are held in a combination of low-risk
investments (bonds and cash), personal business accounts, the stock market, and
real estate. Only 3.6 percent of taxpayers in the top .1% were classified as
entrepreneurs based on 2004 tax returns. A 2009 Kauffman Foundation study found
that the great majority of entrepreneurs come from middle-class backgrounds,
with less than 1 percent of all entrepreneurs coming from very rich or very poor
backgrounds.
2. Only FOUR OUT OF 150 countries have more wealth inequality than
us.
In a world listing compiled by a reputable research team (which nevertheless
prompted double-checking), the U.S. has greater wealth inequality than every
measured country in the world except for Namibia, Zimbabwe, Denmark, and
Switzerland.
3. An amount equal to ONE-HALF the GDP is held untaxed overseas by
rich Americans.
The Tax Justice Network estimated that between $21 and $32 trillion is hidden
offshore, untaxed. With Americans making up 40% of the world's Ultra High Net
Worth Individuals, that's $8 to $12 trillion in U.S. money stashed in far-off
hiding places.
Based on a historical stock market return of 6%, up to $750 billion of income
is lost to the U.S. every year, resulting in a tax loss of about $260
billion.
4. Corporations stopped paying HALF OF THEIR TAXES after the
recession.
After paying an average of 22.5% from 1987 to 2008, corporations have paid an
annual rate of 10% since. This represents a sudden $250 billion annual loss in
taxes.
U.S. corporations have shown a pattern of tax reluctance for more than 50
years, despite building their businesses with American research and
infrastructure. They've passed the responsibility on to their workers. For every
dollar of workers' payroll tax paid in the 1950s, corporations paid three
dollars. Now it's 22 cents.
5. Just TEN Americans made a total of FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS in one
year.
That's enough to pay the salaries of over a million nurses or teachers or
emergency responders.
That's enough, according to 2008 estimates by the Food and Agriculture
Organization and the UN's World Food Program, to feed the 870 million people in
the world who are lacking sufficient food.
For the free-market advocates who say "they've earned it": Point #1 above
makes it clear how the wealthy make their money.
6. Tax deductions for the rich could pay off 100 PERCENT of the
deficit.
Another stat that required a double-check. Based on research by the Tax
Policy Center, tax deferrals and deductions and other forms of tax expenditures
(tax subsidies from special deductions, exemptions, exclusions, credits, capital
gains, and loopholes), which largely benefit the rich, are worth about 7.4% of
the GDP, or about $1.1 trillion.
Other sources have estimated that about two-thirds of the annual $850 billion
in tax expenditures goes to the top quintile of taxpayers.
7. The average single black or Hispanic woman has about $100 IN NET
WORTH.
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development reported that median
wealth for black and Hispanic women is a little over $100. That's much less than
one percent of the median wealth for single white women ($41,500).
Other studies confirm the racially-charged economic inequality in our
country. For every dollar of NON-HOME wealth owned by white families, people of
color have only one cent.
8. Elderly and disabled food stamp recipients get $4.30 A DAY FOR
FOOD.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) has dropped significantly over
the past 15 years, serving only about a quarter of the families in poverty, and
paying less than $400 per month for a family of three for housing and other
necessities. Ninety percent of the available benefits go to the elderly, the
disabled, or working households.
Food stamp recipients get $4.30 a day.
9. Young adults have lost TWO-THIRDS OF THEIR NET WORTH since
1984.
21- to 35-year-olds: Your median net worth has dropped 68% since 1984. It's
now less than $4,000.
That $4,000 has to pay for student loans that average $27,200. Or, if you're
still in school, for $12,700 in credit card debt.
With an unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds of almost 50%, two out of
every five recent college graduates are living with their parents. But your
favorite company may be hiring. Apple, which makes a profit of $420,000 per
employee, can pay you about $12 per hour.
10. The American public paid about FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS to bail out
the banks.
That's about the same amount of money made by America's richest 10% in one
year. But we all paid for the bailout. And because of it, we lost the
opportunity for jobs, mortgage relief, and educational funding.
Bonus for the super-rich: A QUADRILLION DOLLARS in securities trading nets
ZERO sales tax revenue for the U.S.
The world derivatives market is estimated to be worth over a quadrillion
dollars (a thousand trillion). At least $200 trillion of that is in the United
States. In 2011 the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported a trading volume of
over $1 quadrillion on 3.4 billion annual contracts.
A quadrillion dollars. A sales tax of ONE-TENTH OF A PENNY on a quadrillion
dollars could pay off the deficit. But the total sales tax was ZERO.
It's not surprising that the very rich would like to fudge the numbers, as
they have the nation.
Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, an active member of US Uncut Chicago,
founder and developer of social justice and educational websites
(UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org, RappingHistory.org), and the editor and main
author of "American
Wars: Illusions and Realities" (Clarity Press). He can be reached at paul@UsAgainstGreed.org.
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