1 percent – Fact and Myth

Eisenhower Tax Rates – 90%? Yes!

In the lead up to the 2016 election, Bernie Sanders mentioned that the top marginal tax rates under Eisenhower were over 90%. This has lead many wrongly believe that Bernie Sanders himself planned to raise the tax rates to 90%, when in fact he (as others have done) was merely making the point that a 90% top marginal tax rate didn’t seem to prevent economic growth. However, there does appear to be some confusion, and some people incorrectly believe that this was a flat 90% tax rate under Eisenhower and others.Continue reading

As noted countless times in this blog, the shift to a more supply-side (aka Reaganomics/trickle down economics) economy has not led to a stringer middle class. The disparity in wealth and income between the top 1% and everyone else (especially the bottom 4 quintiles) has only widened and left many of the lower quintiles barely able to afford the costs of living. Nevertheless, apologists have used a few distortions to diffuse this inconvenient fact.

Using average income gains instead of median
If Bill Gates walks into a bar, the average income of the people in the bar rises dramatically. But it doesn’t mean anyone in the bar now actually makes more money. Likewise, the last 30 years has seen a sharp rise in wealth for the very top earners, so indeed, the average has risen.

Focusing household income instead of individual income
Double income households are far more common than they were 30 years ago. So while Continue reading

Tag: 1 percent

Eisenhower Tax Rates – 90 Percent

Eisenhower Tax Rates – 90%? Yes!

Income Disparity and the Middle Class: A few Myths and Misconceptions