$36,713

But of course the 1% are paying 37% of the total taxes, more than the bottom 90% combined.... and the top 3% paid more than half the total federal income tax received. The top 10%, 70% of the total.
Maybe they ARE being overtaxed, and maybe the ones in the middle- who are indeed being subsidized by those paying so much more- doth protest too much.... Indeed, they are the ones who should find some gratitude for the benefits enjoy that are paid for with someone else's money. Unlike some countries, the 1% operate in the same environment that the rest of us do. In addition many of the 1%, a great many, started their enterprises in garages, kitchens and the like on a shoestring.

Equality of opportunity- meaning there are no limitations on you that did not apply to those who have succeeded- is a reality. Equality is NOT lowering the bar so everybody "scores", that only insures equal poverty.
IF you are willing to bring the right stuff to the game, you can be a winner. Not easy, not guaranteed- but probable. If you won't do that- you are where you are at due to your own choices.

 

It means there are people who will always have to rely on help due to their limitations. These people will be on welfare not because they want to but because they have to.

 

The top 1% also hold 40% of the wealth, so I'd say if they pay only 37% of all taxes they are getting a good deal.

In any case, what would happen if the taxes on the top 1% were reduced, such as in the recent tax cut? It looks like the rosy predictions of the supply siders are not playing out. Instead of investing money in labor and innovation, they buy back stocks, as predicted.

The world is awash in capital that is looking for return. That's why interest rates are so low. That's why supply side policies are foolish when the problem is with the demand side. Giving the supply side more capital is not going to do it.

 

People with limitations are on SS disability.

 

What limitations are you referring to?

 

The 37% is personal income tax. Their business also pay tax. Their property taxes are far higher than most. They pay half your social security tax. They pay for your unemployment insurance, your workman's comp insurance, and work free for the government as forced tax collectors. Oprah Winfrey for example pays property taxes on her home in the amount of $975,000 per year.

I think that perhaps they should all go on strike, close their businesses for 1 month, lay everyone off, provide no services, and let people see just how much they are contributing to society. No problem, right?

 

what limitations were you referring to? I assumed you meant physical

 

You're confusing wealth with income. Spiritgide was referring to the top 1% of income earners, you're referring to the top 1% in wealth, a partially overlapping group, but not entirely. A lot of the top 1% in wealth have retired and are no longer in the top 1% of income earners. A lot of the top 1% income earners are still in their acquisition phase and are not yet in the top 1% of wealth holders.

As for the supply side, in a way, you're right, but in another way, you're wrong. Just giving the supply side more capital isn't doing it because the barriers to entry for new companies are so high. All that capital looking for a return is only going into stocks, bonds, and other types of credit because there are few new companies coming up worth investing in. Reducing the taxes and regulations on business is the way to prompt new growth and a way to channel all that capital into the middle class, making millions of new people wealthy. Low interest rates are a good reason to invest in riskier projects like new businesses, but as long as government is standing in the way, fewer new businesses get started.

 

Obviously you know I didn’t mean physical based on my post about the janitor example.

 

I have no idea what limitations a Janitor might have that would require them to be on government assistance.

 

Atlas Shrugged, eh? I used to think there should be a "Business Day" as a way to offset "Labor Day", a day when everyone would have to go to work but no one would get paid. As Ebenezer Scrooge said, "If you had to work a day with no wages, you'd think yourself ill-used, but you don't think me ill-used having to pay a day's wages for no work."

 

Well, then let's talk about income, the top 1% make 22% of the total income, tendency rising. I'd say that the taxes are not holding them back, otherwise they wouldn't continue to get a larger and larger piece of the pie. In fact, in the 50s and 60s the top income tax rates were 90%, and we had one of the most prosperous times in history. Since then, top tax rates have been slashed, and what did we get for it, apart from short lived sugar highs?

Second, with regard to IPOs: John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, warned about this:

"Capitalism works when it put capital to work at its highest and best use. As an average over the last five years, we raise $250 billion a year in the markets in IPOs and secondary offerings while $33 trillion a year is traded. That means that over 99.2% is speculative, and .8% is invested. I recommend we institute transaction taxes along with other measures to turn that around."

SPECULATION! And that's the problem, people want to get rich by speculating in the market (easy), rather than producing value and innovating (hard). That's exactly what is happening with the recent Trump tax cuts, they fuel speculation (stock buybacks), rather than innovation. Not good....

 

Maybe all the consumers should go on strike. That will show them. Of course, that will never happen with the masses brainwashed by 24/7 commercials trying to sell them stuff they don't need and they can't afford.

 

According to the OP you are part of the top1% world wide.

 

Touche.....

 

Well, I’m pretty confident a janitor doesn’t make a whole lot of money therefore they might need some assistance. I'm pretty confident most people who are janitors or work stocking shelves at a Walmart are doing so due to not having the highest intelligence levels. Some people are born with a lesser capacity for intelligence.

 

I never cease to be amazed by the crap leftists believe. No one is talking about cutting SS. What is being talked about is how we are going to continue funding a program that was designed for a country in which the average life expectancy was 65 The family lived on Dad's SS because mom didn't work outside the home and we weren't aborting a million future tax payers a year more than half of them female. And going out of our way to make sure there are as few normal male female relationships as possible.

 

And those commercials are businesses applying for work- the job of providing you what you want as the price you are willing to pay. All you have to do to kill them all off is stop giving them your business, and they will be gone. Then, your life will be...... Better?

When people apply to business for work, they think they are doing the business a favor by offering to take their money for whatever they feel like putting in.
When business applies to customers, they offer as much as possible in services, provide warranties, guarantee satisfaction, say thanks.....

Wonder what would happen if business took the attitude employees take?

You see- you are supposed to be managing your own life and your money. Business offers- it doesn't force you to buy anything. It's your job to manage your financial affairs, to know what you can afford and not afford. You think business should do that for you? Tell you that you can't have what you want to buy because they don't think you should be wasting money like that?

Just imagine the outcry if that happened.
Actually I wish some business would do that. Tattoo shops for example could save the newer generations millions of dollars and improve their life options at the same time.

 

that doesn't qualify them for government assistance

 

Income level does.

 

i've been looking at Janitorial jobs then seem to be between 15 and 25 dollars an hour dependent on experience. that is to say 31,200 - 52,000 per year

 

I’m seeing avg of $29k. The point of course is about people who are somewhat limited in intelligence level and therefore stuck in lower paying jobs.

 

so you are calling janitors stupid?

again hierarchy of the competent the more competent you are the more money you'll make.

anyone working full time shouldn't need government assistance, they might need a room mate, but not government assistance.
by assistance i mean a monthly check from the government.

 

No

 

really????