Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RMF who wrote (41512)	3/1/2010 1:31:42 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Total "wealth" is one thing, and "income" is another. But since total wealth is often a very difficult thing to measure, income often becomes a proxy for it. And the share of the nation's GAINS in income that are going to the top 1% of income earners in our society now (vs. the amounts going to the other 99% of society) just now EXCEED the previous high water mark recorded in the nineteen twenties just before the Great Depression.... (And are - if no change - heading into distinctly 'un-American' territory. Territory more like what we have traditionally associated with the wealth disparities in "Banana Republics" and such....)

To: RMF who wrote (41512)	3/1/2010 4:07:20 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

I "think" the article I saw said something about the top 1% paying a rather low overall tax rate too, which really bugged me. Lowest quintile: 4.3 percent Second quintile: 9.9 percent Middle quintile: 14.2 percent Fourth quintile: 17.4 percent Percentiles 81-90: 20.3 percent Percentiles 91-95: 22.4 percent Percentiles 96-99: 25.7 percent Percentiles 99.0-99.5: 29.7 percent Percentiles 99.5-99.9: 31.2 percent Percentiles 99.9-99.99: 32.1 percent Top 0.01 Percentile: 31.5 percent gregmankiw.blogspot.com So the top 5%, top 1%, top .5%, top .1%, and even the top 0.01% pay well above the average tax payer in terms of percent of income paid to federal taxes. But I have seen information indicating that the top 400 tax payers (or the about the top .0003%), don't pay more than the top or even the 4th (second highest) quintile. They do however still pay a bit more than average. The pay 16.62 percent.