5 ms·

The wealthy also stopped paying taxes so...what does this rich guy want exactly?

by davesque 8mo ago

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 8mo ago
That's categorically untrue.
- iancmceachern 8mo ago
  I asked AI and it looks like it is true. I asked what was the tax rate percentage for the top 10 percent of income earners in the US for each of the decades from 1940 to now: 1940s: Peaked at 94% in 1944–1945. 1950s: Remained high, peaking around 91%. 1960s: Started at 91% and dropped to 70% by 1965. 1970s: Remained around 70%. 1980s: Dropped from 70% to 50%, ending at 28%. 1990s: 31% to 39.6%. 2000s: Decreased from 39.6% to 35%. 2010s: Ranged from 35% to 39.6%. Current (2020s): 37%. Also, in 1930 it was low as well. So it looks like the years in which we did the things Gary wants us to do again in his essay were all done during periods of time in which we taxed the super rich heavily. This seems at odds with this from him: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garrytan_larry-and-sergey-cant-stay-in-california-activity-7415601818061205504-NWUJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAA-OsD0BceAqvWUMre2uBVU5pddB4GfTbi8 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garrytan_larry-and-sergey-can... I agree that we should do big things for the greater good. That's an easy sell for everyone. The real conversation needs to be about who pays for it, and how.
  - sien 8mo ago
    Federal Receipts as Percent of Gross Domestic Product has been roughly stable for more than half a century. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S The top quintile of income earners in the US pay 34% of all taxes. The next quintile 26% . https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/who-pays-taxes-federal-state-local-tax-burden-transfers/ https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/who-pays-taxe... US Federal spending was 7 Trn in 2025. This is surely enough to fund things. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/ https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/feder... That is more than the total GDP of any country except China and the US itself.
    - iancmceachern 8mo ago
      I think that’s a fair point, and it highlights part of the tension here. Total receipts as a share of GDP may be relatively stable, but the structure of taxation and where the burden falls has changed over time. My point wasn’t that government lacked revenue in aggregate, but that many of the periods people point to as examples of large national projects coincided with higher marginal tax rates on top earners. The interesting question isn’t just how much is collected, but how the burden is distributed and what tradeoffs people are willing to accept going forward.
    - danaris 8mo ago
      > The top quintile of income earners in the US pay 34% of all taxes. The next quintile 26% . And what percentages of all income & wealth do those quintiles have...?
  - tastyfreeze 8mo ago
    Nobody ever paid 90% taxes. There were tax rates that high but lots of ways to avoid it same as now. If you want a fair tax that treats everybody equally you want a flat consumption tax. No tax to make money. Just taxed when you spend money. Rich people spend more money so they pay more taxes. It can't be avoided by taking a dollar salary or using assets as equity for loans that dont get taxed. As an aside, billionaires pay the same taxes you do on income. Demanding a wealth tax on billionaires is foolish. Every tax ever devised was sold as a tax on the rich. Look where we are now, forced to give a third or more of our labor to an entity that half the country likes on a good year.
    - iancmceachern 8mo ago
      Agreed that effective tax rates were much lower than the headline marginal rates because of deductions and avoidance strategies. My point was more about the policy environment and incentives of those periods, not that people literally paid 90% of their income in tax. The broader conversation I’m interested in is how we realistically fund large public efforts today and what mix of taxation or spending people think is fair and sustainable.
      - tastyfreeze 8mo ago
        I don't think an individual's tax burden should ever be more than 15%. I would prefer that people get to keep the fruits of their labor. The people created the government to serve and protect them not steal their wealth.
        iancmceachern 8mo ago
        Seems good to me personally but how will we ever pay for all these aircraft carriers?
        tastyfreeze 8mo ago
        By not paying for a shit ton of other things.

The wealthy also stopped paying taxes so...what does this rich guy want exactly?

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 8mo ago

That's categorically untrue.

iancmceachern 8mo ago
I asked AI and it looks like it is true. I asked what was the tax rate percentage for the top 10 percent of income earners in the US for each of the decades from 1940 to now: 1940s: Peaked at 94% in 1944–1945. 1950s: Remained high, peaking around 91%. 1960s: Started at 91% and dropped to 70% by 1965. 1970s: Remained around 70%. 1980s: Dropped from 70% to 50%, ending at 28%. 1990s: 31% to 39.6%. 2000s: Decreased from 39.6% to 35%. 2010s: Ranged from 35% to 39.6%. Current (2020s): 37%. Also, in 1930 it was low as well. So it looks like the years in which we did the things Gary wants us to do again in his essay were all done during periods of time in which we taxed the super rich heavily. This seems at odds with this from him: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garrytan_larry-and-sergey-cant-stay-in-california-activity-7415601818061205504-NWUJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAA-OsD0BceAqvWUMre2uBVU5pddB4GfTbi8 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garrytan_larry-and-sergey-can... I agree that we should do big things for the greater good. That's an easy sell for everyone. The real conversation needs to be about who pays for it, and how.
- sien 8mo ago
  Federal Receipts as Percent of Gross Domestic Product has been roughly stable for more than half a century. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S The top quintile of income earners in the US pay 34% of all taxes. The next quintile 26% . https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/who-pays-taxes-federal-state-local-tax-burden-transfers/ https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/who-pays-taxe... US Federal spending was 7 Trn in 2025. This is surely enough to fund things. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/ https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/feder... That is more than the total GDP of any country except China and the US itself.
  - iancmceachern 8mo ago
    I think that’s a fair point, and it highlights part of the tension here. Total receipts as a share of GDP may be relatively stable, but the structure of taxation and where the burden falls has changed over time. My point wasn’t that government lacked revenue in aggregate, but that many of the periods people point to as examples of large national projects coincided with higher marginal tax rates on top earners. The interesting question isn’t just how much is collected, but how the burden is distributed and what tradeoffs people are willing to accept going forward.
  - danaris 8mo ago
    > The top quintile of income earners in the US pay 34% of all taxes. The next quintile 26% . And what percentages of all income & wealth do those quintiles have...?
- tastyfreeze 8mo ago
  Nobody ever paid 90% taxes. There were tax rates that high but lots of ways to avoid it same as now. If you want a fair tax that treats everybody equally you want a flat consumption tax. No tax to make money. Just taxed when you spend money. Rich people spend more money so they pay more taxes. It can't be avoided by taking a dollar salary or using assets as equity for loans that dont get taxed. As an aside, billionaires pay the same taxes you do on income. Demanding a wealth tax on billionaires is foolish. Every tax ever devised was sold as a tax on the rich. Look where we are now, forced to give a third or more of our labor to an entity that half the country likes on a good year.
  - iancmceachern 8mo ago
    Agreed that effective tax rates were much lower than the headline marginal rates because of deductions and avoidance strategies. My point was more about the policy environment and incentives of those periods, not that people literally paid 90% of their income in tax. The broader conversation I’m interested in is how we realistically fund large public efforts today and what mix of taxation or spending people think is fair and sustainable.
    - tastyfreeze 8mo ago
      I don't think an individual's tax burden should ever be more than 15%. I would prefer that people get to keep the fruits of their labor. The people created the government to serve and protect them not steal their wealth.
      - iancmceachern 8mo ago
        Seems good to me personally but how will we ever pay for all these aircraft carriers?
        tastyfreeze 8mo ago
        By not paying for a shit ton of other things.