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In our envy ridden society, few issues receive more demagogic assertions as the perceived "rich."
The "rich" have too much money, didn't earn it, or don't pay their fair share of taxes. Let's examine the "rich" to determine if the facts justify the vitriol.
First, it is important to know what is commonly called an Income Distribution is really an Earnings Distribution.
Wages and salaries make up the overwhelming share of income for Americans.
For 99% of households, over 90% of income comes from salary and wages and the small balance from interest and dividends.
In fact, for 99.99% of households, wages and salaries make up the majority of their incomes.
People still make money the old-fashioned way -- they earn it.
One should be careful when criticizing the top 1%, as that group includes the most productive people among us.
By occupation, that includes physicians, lawyers, business owners and managers, athletes, entertainment and media personalities.
Our lives would be less interesting, less civilized, and shorter were it not for the work of the top 1%.
Another misnomer is that many of the top 1% inherited their wealth (and by some misguided logic) don't deserve it.
A recent study of millionaires (a net worth of $1 million or more) showed only a small percentage inherited it. In fact, 79% of millionaires received no inheritance at all. They were entirely self-made! Only 3% inherited more than $1 million.
So, for 97% of American millionaires, they earned it all. America is a meritocracy.
Life isn't always fair, but it usually is.
With respect to taxes, it is simply incorrect that the top 1% don't pay their fair share. They pay more than anyone else at 40.9% of their income.
The super rich among them also pay heavily. The top 0.1% pay 40.6%, and the top 0.001% pay 39.8%. We have a highly progressive tax structure.
In aggregate, according to 2020 data, the top 1% paid 42% of all income taxes even though their proportionate share of income is half that. What would we do without them?
The top 400 households (think Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) pay 31.6% of their income in taxes because they own assets which generate capital gains.
Buffett's businesses employ over 383,000 people. Microsoft employs 96,000 domestically and 67,000 internationally. Both men are donating their wealth to charity.
Think of it this way: their businesses employ many people, provide products and services consumers value highly, and pledge to give all the money they made back to society. What a deal for us.
Besides, confiscating all the income of the Top 400 would support government expenditures for only six days - and then what do we do?
Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but it is the only one that does not give pleasure. Why do this to ourselves or allow others to?
Remember the Desiderata, there will always be greater and lesser ones among us.
(Editor's note: Christopher Gable resides in Altoona and is a periodic contributor the Mirror's Opinion page. Most data for this column was taken from "The Myth of American Income Inequality," by Phillip Gramm.)