Quote:
Originally Posted by philcski
Dude... everybody's getting their panties in a bunch over a whole lot of nothing when it comes to the complaints about "redistribution of wealth". here is the historical data of effective tax rate over the last 25 years. the numbers don't really change much, despite the beliefs of many. and it won't going forward, either. Hell, under Bush there was "redistribution of wealth" if you want to call it that- the effective tax ratio of lowest brackets to the highest bracket actually increased. The only time since 1980 that it's decreased was under Reagan.
Total Effective Federal Tax Rate
Year Lowest Quintile Second Quintile Middle Quintile Fourth Quintile Highest Quintile All Quintiles
1979 8.0 14.3 18.6 21.2 27.5 22.2
1980 7.7 14.1 18.7 21.5 27.3 22.2
1981 8.3 14.7 19.2 22.1 26.9 22.4
1982 8.2 13.8 17.9 20.6 24.4 20.7
1983 9.1 13.7 17.5 20.1 23.9 20.4
1984 10.2 14.6 18.0 20.4 24.3 21.0
1985 9.8 14.8 18.1 20.4 24.0 20.9
1986 9.6 14.8 18.0 20.5 23.8 20.9
1987 8.7 14.0 17.6 20.2 25.8 21.6
1988 8.5 14.3 17.9 20.6 25.6 21.8
1989 7.9 13.9 17.9 20.5 25.2 21.5
1990 8.9 14.6 17.9 20.6 25.1 21.5
1991 8.4 14.2 17.6 20.5 25.3 21.5
1992 8.2 13.7 17.4 20.2 25.6 21.5
1993 8.0 13.5 17.3 20.2 26.8 22.0
1994 6.6 13.1 17.3 20.4 27.4 22.3
1995 6.3 13.4 17.3 20.5 27.8 22.6
1996 5.6 13.2 17.3 20.3 28.0 22.7
1997 5.8 13.6 17.4 20.5 28.0 22.9
1998 5.8 13.0 16.8 20.4 27.6 22.6
1999 6.1 13.3 16.9 20.5 28.0 22.9
2000 6.4 13.0 16.6 20.5 28.0 23.0
2001 5.1 11.5 15.3 18.9 26.7 21.4
2002 4.7 10.8 14.8 18.3 26.0 20.7
2003 4.6 9.8 13.8 17.4 25.0 19.8
2004 4.3 9.9 14.1 17.3 25.2 20.1
2005 4.3 10.1 14.2 17.5 25.8 20.6
2006 4.3 10.2 14.2 17.6 25.8 20.7
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I think you are looking at it in too simplistic of terms. "Redistribution" is probably not the most accurate word. What would be more accurate would be an increased "reliance on govt" which leads to the govt needing to take more money from its citizens, the greatest proportion of which will come from those termed wealthy. The "rich" dont rely on the govt for anything outside of basic services and dont benefit in any manner by paying more/making less. The middle class is being duped into thinking that the same applies to them except that now a great number of them are now going to become reliant on the govt for a very important and costly service , healthcare. So while they too will be seeing a decrease in their income, they at the very least are getting something in return though that service very well may not measure up to their previous coverage. The people who dont pay much of anything into the system, dont contribute much of anything are the ones that benefit the most while having almost complete dependance/reliance on the govt. While some of these people simply dont have the capability physically/mentally to contribute and need to be cared for the size of this group is due to grow, further taxing the system which leads to more money being taken from the other, paying segment. It is as foolish to believe that people wont take handouts as it was that employers wouldnt dump millions of empolyees onto the govts dole when given the chance. The net effect is that the bottom class increases in size leading to further govt dependance. And as seen in the last election, the bottom classes votes count too. While it is sad but true, politics really trump all other considerations.