>>> That is exactly what the sainted Reagan did. Sure, not all In one fell swoop, but taxing capital gains at a much lower rate than income puts in place a system that those who depend on capital gains, the wealthy, were going to pay a lower percentage than those who don't.
You seem to be very confused about what Reagan did. TRA86, the last major tax reform we've had, taxed capital gains similarly to ordinary income, totally eliminating the favor capital gain rates, while getting rid of TONS of deductions (notably, rental real estate losses as an offset to ordinary income) which benefitted mostly the wealthy and upper-middle classes. Reagan proposed it.
>> That is just inevitable. As a result, we have wealth concentrated upwards, which hurts the economy in so many ways by decimating the middle class.
You have totally drawn a false conclusion. Pooling of wealth occurs, regardless of tax rates. Do you suggest there was no pooling of wealth prior to the 16th Amendment?
And the argument that it somehow "harms" the economy to have wealthy people accumulate wealth is just absurd on its face. People working and succeeding in creation of wealth is without any doubt the key to a growing economy. You seem to think, like Al, that it is zero sum. It isn't and never has been. Accumulation of capital yields innovation and creates new markets which gives people jobs.
I have not read a more ignorant commentary here than the one you wrote. You are totally rewriting history and at the same time leaping to conclusions about stuff you know nothing about. |
