Redistribution of American Wealth

Income inequality has greatly widened since the early 80's. Since the early 80's, these things and low interest policies by the fed have been the only two consistent variables. So if I make $50K and put 5% in, then my "income" becomes $47.5K and the stock market upon which the ubber wealthy rely for their wealth picks up $5K in added "value". Extend that over 40 years, then my income is understated by $100,000.00 and the market gains $200K so it creates a $300K gap between the two.

 

Ok then what is your specific remedy to fix this.
Not just something should be done.
Way too much nebulousness on this thread to me.

 

I already stated my point. Progressive taxation. Not being an economist, I'm not going to attempt to suggest any specific bracket limits. 75% is a nice round number. But that's all it is.

 

75 percent for whom?

 

Well, this is one wealthy guy and he doesn't represent every single wealthy person in the country. It is mathematically proven that wealthy people pay a much higher percent in federal taxes and would benefit if taxes were flat.

Problem is that most people aren't qualified to invest properly and need assistance doing this. Also, a lot of people don't have enough disposable income to invest very much. This is why 401Ks and retirement accounts are the best option here. I know people who are really good at investment but it takes them years and trial and error to reach that level. I think the government should increase matching requirements for 401Ks so that more people use these accounts. I also think employees should have the opinion of having this money put directly into IRAs rather than company managed 401K accounts. Hey, in an ideal world, the government could replace social security with just dumping money into requirement accounts.

 

Now I’m wondering who thinks the best thing to do is gather wealth statistics and redistribute the total wealth so that everyone at the beginning of the redistribution has exactly the same amount of money in their accounts. I wonder how much more the average person has and what people think will play out economically after that.

 

I didn't say it was a problem that needs to be fixed. I personally think that the "gap" is meaningless. I want it as big as it can be the day I cash out my 401K because that will mean that the market is well bloated. What happens the day after that day won't matter. Now, to the extent that we redistribute it through taxation, I would rather see us have free college than I would some individual cash benefit as I support expanded opportunities, not forced outcomes.

 

75% as a top bracket.

I have no idea whom. How the brackets are divided is not my argument.

 

I didn’t have much disposable income but chose not to waste money on a car or other non returning expenditures like restaurants. Look at poor people who generally do have a car and money for alcohol and cigarettes. It’s called financial discipline and everyone can do it if I could!

 

~ I believe the highest tax rate in any nation is around 45% ...? If the U.S. is too high we simply will lose much of our wealth to other nations.

 

Ok on this we agree.

 

So 75 percent to the wealthiest. How does it break down after that?

 

Not having a car is not a real option in some places, but otherwise I agree with you.

 

They are worth it because the game brings in massive revenue. Meanwhile janitors are literally a dime a dozen.

 

I still have no car here but public transit does me fine. Walking doesn’t bother me and of course bicycling is almost a requirement.

Even in the states I avoided places that had lousy public transportation.

I lived in LA and this is just one more reason to not live in LA.

 

But they are not simple, nor are they applicable across the whole continent.

 

Good point about the return on investment in the NFL but I hope you do not express your janitorial views to janitors as they know their way around the many uses for a mop!

 

You do realise life gets complicated?

Kill the easy tax dodges, roll back some of the tax cuts. While the actual implementation will include expanding IRS enforcement, and the usual complexities of taxation, the idea is simple. Everyone pays their fair share. The rich haven't done that in 40 years.

 

One has choices of places to live in something as large as a continent.

 

No. There is no such person. But that's irrelevant. I was asking you to clarify your statement. Then, you veered off to somewhere else.

 

"Everyone pays their fair share. The rich haven't done that in 40 years."

Oh, stop! That fake meme is worn out.

 

I agree that poor habits and lifestyle is one reason why people aren't successful. But it is also true that the wealthier you are, the higher percent of your income you can invest, and the more income you can earn by just sitting around.

If I'm a welder earning $40,000 per year with three kids, a mortgage, and taxes, I'm not going to have much disposable income to invest. Lets say I'm able to invest $3,000 per year. If I'm a CEO who is earning $400,000 when you factor in my salary, bonuses, profit sharing, and commission, then I can easily live on $200,000 per year and invest $100,000 per year. Lets assume a 7.5% interest rate.

Now lets move forward 10 years. The CEO now has $1,415,000 in investment and is earning $106,000 in interest alone. After 10 years, the welder has $42,500 and is earning $3,200 in interest every year. Keep in mind this welder is really cutting back expenses to make this work. Retirement costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and often over a million, so the welder is in trouble. The CEO is doing so well and his money is now working for him that he can now begin partially living off of the interest.

 

Well, if I see an over flowing toilet I will not call Kaepernick. I would hate for him to get his knees dirty.

 

Constantly whining fake is itself fake..

It's also stupid.

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