4 ms·

I don't know where you hail from, but what you so snarkily describe is not happening...at all. Taxes in the US, at all levels, are going up as evidenced by the

I don't know where you hail from, but what you so snarkily describe is not happening...at all. Taxes in the US, at all levels, are going up as evidenced by the continual rise in tax revenue collected by virtually all levels of government. There has never been more regulations placed on businesses that deliver middle class wages. Trump may have rolled back a handful of redundant regs, but that's just a finger in the dike. Healthcare costs and costs of coverage continue to geometrically increase because of government interference. IIRC, employer-provided healthcare may even be diminishing in some fashion. Not sure. As for IP laws, I'm not sure how you're relating that to the collapse of the US/Western middle class, but I'm sure you have a reason to mention it.

jjoonathan 8y ago
> Taxes in the US, at all levels, are going up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Top_Capital_Gains_Tax_Rates_and_Economic_Growth_1950-2011.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax_in_the_Unite...
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  Your factoid, indicating that 'a specific threshold of cap gains tax' has gone down, does not negate the commenters point. Cap gains is only one kind of tax, moreover, the 'top rate' is just one factor in it. Overall - tax receipts as a % of GDP have roughly been steady [1] or going up a little bit. (Hint: tax rates going up or down don't mean that tax receipts go up or down in unison. Lower taxes could possibly mean more tax revenue etc.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser%27s_law As for Chicago, there might be specific factors. My unscientific hunch is that the middle class moved out, the crappy neighbourhoods expanded, and some neighbourhoods were taken over by migrants from poorer countries who don't have access/qualifications for higher skilled jobs. Essentially the same story as many cities, without maybe the 2000's renaissance we've seen elsewhere with people coming back to the urban core. It would be nice to look at the entire Chicago region.

jjoonathan 8y ago

> Taxes in the US, at all levels, are going up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Top_Capital_Gains_Tax_Rates_and_Economic_Growth_1950-2011.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax_in_the_Unite...

sonnyblarney 8y ago
Your factoid, indicating that 'a specific threshold of cap gains tax' has gone down, does not negate the commenters point. Cap gains is only one kind of tax, moreover, the 'top rate' is just one factor in it. Overall - tax receipts as a % of GDP have roughly been steady [1] or going up a little bit. (Hint: tax rates going up or down don't mean that tax receipts go up or down in unison. Lower taxes could possibly mean more tax revenue etc.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser%27s_law As for Chicago, there might be specific factors. My unscientific hunch is that the middle class moved out, the crappy neighbourhoods expanded, and some neighbourhoods were taken over by migrants from poorer countries who don't have access/qualifications for higher skilled jobs. Essentially the same story as many cities, without maybe the 2000's renaissance we've seen elsewhere with people coming back to the urban core. It would be nice to look at the entire Chicago region.