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"I thought everyone wanted the rich to pay their fair share?" There is a growing consensus that those with vast and rapidly increasing accumulations of wealth

"I thought everyone wanted the rich to pay their fair share?" There is a growing consensus that those with vast and rapidly increasing accumulations of wealth should pay more taxes. Not upper-middle income families in expensive metros.

refurb 8y ago
Just like the old adage "An alcoholic is someone who has one more drink than I do", being rich is always "someone who makes more than I do."
- standardUser 8y ago
  "being rich is always "someone who makes more than I do." In recent American discourse, the metric is usually the top 1% or a fraction of the top 1% (in terms of wealth and /or income). These aren't our well off neighbors, these are families that are astronomically wealthy. The top 1% of wealthiest households in the US possess more wealth than the bottom 90%. There are plenty of people with more money then me who are nowhere near that top 1%, but few people are clamoring for them to pay more in taxes.
  - tracker1 8y ago
    Isn't most of the U.S. in the top 1-5% of the world? Again, I'm against the tax structure to begin with... I'd rather see most exceptions eliminated. The fact is the states are relying on that deduction to shift things... this just puts a cap on it.
  - refurb 8y ago
    Top 1% in the US is a household income over $450k. That’s easily exceeded in a couple who both work in tech. We’re not talking about the super wealthy at all.
- spaced-out 8y ago
  No, there's a pretty clear difference between people who have to get up and work every day or they'll end up homeless, and those that don't.
drilldrive 8y ago
Lower-middle income families are quite rich by world standards, let alone upper-middle income families.
- standardUser 8y ago
  The point being that few people in the US are calling for increased taxes on any of those types of families. The politics these days is very squarely focused on the super-wealthy.
leesalminen 8y ago
I think you’d be surprised what many people consider “rich” now. In my experience, if you have >1 car, own a home and earn >200k you are indeed rich and should be taxed to oblivion. I’ve spoken with so many people about this and it’s depressing how so many people feel disadvantaged in this country.

refurb 8y ago

Just like the old adage "An alcoholic is someone who has one more drink than I do", being rich is always "someone who makes more than I do."

standardUser 8y ago
"being rich is always "someone who makes more than I do." In recent American discourse, the metric is usually the top 1% or a fraction of the top 1% (in terms of wealth and /or income). These aren't our well off neighbors, these are families that are astronomically wealthy. The top 1% of wealthiest households in the US possess more wealth than the bottom 90%. There are plenty of people with more money then me who are nowhere near that top 1%, but few people are clamoring for them to pay more in taxes.
- tracker1 8y ago
  Isn't most of the U.S. in the top 1-5% of the world? Again, I'm against the tax structure to begin with... I'd rather see most exceptions eliminated. The fact is the states are relying on that deduction to shift things... this just puts a cap on it.
- refurb 8y ago
  Top 1% in the US is a household income over $450k. That’s easily exceeded in a couple who both work in tech. We’re not talking about the super wealthy at all.
spaced-out 8y ago
No, there's a pretty clear difference between people who have to get up and work every day or they'll end up homeless, and those that don't.

drilldrive 8y ago

Lower-middle income families are quite rich by world standards, let alone upper-middle income families.

standardUser 8y ago
The point being that few people in the US are calling for increased taxes on any of those types of families. The politics these days is very squarely focused on the super-wealthy.

leesalminen 8y ago

I think you’d be surprised what many people consider “rich” now. In my experience, if you have >1 car, own a home and earn >200k you are indeed rich and should be taxed to oblivion. I’ve spoken with so many people about this and it’s depressing how so many people feel disadvantaged in this country.