The issue we are talking about is the passage of Measures 66-67, which raised taxes on wealthy people and corporations. Here is a link anyone interested in the discussion should at least check out:
seekingalpha.com/instablog/183929-sober-realist/21758-the-wealth-gap-and-the-collapse-of-the-u-s
I'll give you a few highlights. The facts are sourced in the article, so I will not waste space here:
Between 1970-1999, the average US worker salary rose 10% in real dollars.
In the same period, America's top CEO's salaries rose to 1000x the average salary (from 41x in 1970).
Between 1979-1997 the richest 1% of the population saw their incomes go up 157%.
In 2008, the 20 highest paid Hedge Fund managers earned 22,255x the average US worker salary.These same managers, using a tax loop hole unavailable to you and I, paid 15% Federal tax rate.
We are only talking about incomes here. If we measured Wealth the picture would be even more unbalanced. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks the USA third worst among the top 30 world economies for inequality and for economic opportunity - only Turkey and Mexico are more unequal.
The last time the deck was this stacked in favor of the rich was just before the 1929 Crash.
The reason we had a crash this time was similar, so much wealth had accumulated at the top, without enough real investment opportunities in the productive economy. So imaginary investment 'opportunities' were invented by the Masters of the Universe. Interestingly enough both the left and the conservative Austrian economic school agree on these causes for the economic crash -although solutions differ. This is a good case for the argument that it's not taxation of the wealthy that threatens our future, it is massive wealth inequality.
seekingalpha.com/instablog/183929-sober-realist/21758-the-wealth-gap-and-the-collapse-of-the-u-s
I'll give you a few highlights. The facts are sourced in the article, so I will not waste space here:
Between 1970-1999, the average US worker salary rose 10% in real dollars.
In the same period, America's top CEO's salaries rose to 1000x the average salary (from 41x in 1970).
Between 1979-1997 the richest 1% of the population saw their incomes go up 157%.
In 2008, the 20 highest paid Hedge Fund managers earned 22,255x the average US worker salary.These same managers, using a tax loop hole unavailable to you and I, paid 15% Federal tax rate.
We are only talking about incomes here. If we measured Wealth the picture would be even more unbalanced. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks the USA third worst among the top 30 world economies for inequality and for economic opportunity - only Turkey and Mexico are more unequal.
The last time the deck was this stacked in favor of the rich was just before the 1929 Crash.
The reason we had a crash this time was similar, so much wealth had accumulated at the top, without enough real investment opportunities in the productive economy. So imaginary investment 'opportunities' were invented by the Masters of the Universe. Interestingly enough both the left and the conservative Austrian economic school agree on these causes for the economic crash -although solutions differ. This is a good case for the argument that it's not taxation of the wealthy that threatens our future, it is massive wealth inequality.