The top federal income tax rate was 91 percent in 1950 and 1951, and between 1954 and 1959. In 1952 and 1953, the top federal income tax rate was 92 percent. (USA)
We need to go back to this. Wealth inequality is damaging society far more than ever. From Onlyfans to Bitcoins Scams, social media platforms has only exacerbated the issue. Will the pendulum swing back to morality and just cause away from lawlessness and perversion? Is there a singular root cause for this behavior? Gen Z maybe the last hope.
No, we don't need to go back to this because it simply doesn't work.
In my country, the top rate of 50% sets in around 70K of income. The top rate is hated so much that it actively curtails people's ambitions. People feel its pointless to level up beyond this point. They won't fight to reach bonus targets because the bonus is cut in half. If they continue to grow in income, many consider working a day less per week, as supplemental income becomes largely useless.
A 92% tax rate, at whatever threshold you set it, means anything you do beyond that point has no point at all.
Further, for organizations to richly reward top leaders, which whilst not popular is very much needed, how do you figure they pay them a high net income? Just do up the gross costs by a factor 10?
Finally, surely you realize true wealth doesn't come from labor?
>The top federal income tax rate was 91 percent in 1950 and 1951, and between 1954 and 1959. In 1952 and 1953, the top federal income tax rate was 92 percent. (USA)
>We need to go back to this.
There were so many deductions and tax breaks back then that, to a first approximation, no one paid anywhere close to that. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 removed most of those deductions as part of the collapsing of tax brackets.
California could lower their income tax rate if they stopped subsidizing older homeowners via prop 13. There are people that pay like $1,000 a year (in property tax) living in million dollar homes.
Wealth inequality is not being caused or exacerbated by Onlyfans and Bitcoin scams or "lack of morality", whatever that means.
Corporate and high income taxes have been slashed. This has been going on for decades, but the prior president and congress gave the wealthiest Americans and corporations a two trillion dollar tax cut - a forty percent reduction in corporate taxes - and this was after one trillion dollars in Paycheck Protection Program "loans", most of which were 'forgiven' and a myriad of other pandemic programs - as well as a wholesale gutting of regulations.
In 1940 if you made $200,000 ($4M today) you were taxed at ninety percent to help out with the war effort because there was a long history of the wealthiest being expected to help out in times of societal emergency. The NY Times claims the Great Recession and COVID were the first exceptions but I'd say it's been going on since Vietnam or so. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/opinion/rich-billionaires...
> you were taxed at ninety percent to help out with the war effort because there was a long history of the wealthiest being expected to help out in times of societal emergency.
Never heard it phrased this way before but I like it. Those that can help more should help more. In fact, most people take pride when they can (over) contribute.
If somebody has a medical emergency on the sidewalk, the doctor walking by would be expected/assumed to help more than Nancy the software engineer.
Nobody would call you insane for expecting the doctor help more because they are more capable.
The rich were willing to accept the taxes at the time because of fear of communism (there was a strong communist movement in the U.S., and they had seen the communists expropriate (a.k.a. strip people of) private property in Russia in 1917 & China (after the revolution) at the time.
This is also partly why post-war Europe introduced generous social programs - as a way to prevent people from being seduced into communism.
Woah, had no idea it was that high. And that's in a decade that is considered one of the best in US history (if you were the "right" demographic of course).
Any idea what the top tax bracket was that had that rate? Wonder what it would be now adjusted for inflation.
We need to go back to this. Wealth inequality is damaging society far more than ever. From Onlyfans to Bitcoins Scams, social media platforms has only exacerbated the issue. Will the pendulum swing back to morality and just cause away from lawlessness and perversion? Is there a singular root cause for this behavior? Gen Z maybe the last hope.