You know, something quantifiable. :-)
You could try doing that yourself. After all you claimed my statement was utterly ridiculous. You really should have the information and arguments ready to demolish it if your going to make that kind of statement. Once again you demand data (even for the most obviously true statements), but don't provide any of your own, while heaping scorn on other people's statements.
But what the hell...
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In terms of gross transfers the numbers are irrelevant as long as the rich, as a group, pay even a single penny of tax. That single penny would be a transfer away from them.
In terms of net transfers. The rich pay most of the federal tax burden. I shouldn't need to present any numbers for that, I know its true, your know its true, and we each know the other person knows its true, but I'll provide links to data anyway
ntu.org
factcheck.org
gregmankiw.blogspot.com
american.com
taxfoundation.org
rushlimbaugh.com
In 2007 the top 5% paid over 60% of the federal income tax burden. (see the data in the links above). Lets round down to 60%. The federal individual income tax take was $1.1 trillion. ( en.wikipedia.org ) 60% of that is $660bil dollars. That's just from the top 5% and just on individual income taxes.
As for transfers to them, much of the federal budget is no transfer programs. The parts that are
Social Security - The biggest, and some of it goes to the rich, but the system is set up so that payments out don't go up as much as the increase in payments in. (And yes the tax doesn't increase for the extremely wealthy, but they don't get any extra payments to them either, wealthy people pay more in to the system than they get out.
Medicare - Along with medicare its arguable whether this is considered a transfer program or not. But accepting that it is, the majority of the money goes to those who are not rich because the majority of people are not rich.
Medicaid - Rich not eligible.
Defense - Not a transfer program.
Interest on the debt - Not a transfer, its paying for the use of money, not giving money away to the bondholders.
Transportation - Sure its porky and inefficient but it isn't a transfer program
Education - Mostly not transfers to individuals.
Administration of Justice - Not a transfer program
Unemployment and Welfare - Rich not eligible for the later, don't receive massive amounts from the former.
Veterans Benefits - Debatable as a transfer, and in any case does not primarily go to the rich, if only because they are a lower percentage of the population, and the veteran population, than the non-rich.
Natural resources and environment and management of federal lands - Not a transfer program.
Farm Price supports and other agricultural subsidies - Rich are eligible, and they get the majority of the money, but the program has never gone beyond the low tens of billions range. Way to small compared to all the tax revenue the rich pay.
Department of Commerce - It does other things but subsidies/transfers, but assume its whole budget was that, and it all went to the wealthy, it would only add only $14bil
Department of Energy - Not focused on transfers.
No way for that the transfers there to up to $660bil either in 2007 or now, let alone the real total burden of tax paid by the wealthy (remember the $660bil figure excludes taxes other than the federal individual income tax). |
