Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics Their Fair Share

Isn't that where the thread began, Harv? The WSJ skewed some data to show this to be the case. I skewed the same data to show that people with low incomes contribute disproportionately to income tax revenues. I have my opinion, the WSJ has theirs. Obviously you agree with theirs. But it is still an opinion based on data.

Sorry Harv, but in fact you overlooked my critique of the data.
Your welcome seems rather cold, friend.

Originally Posted By: stereoman
Originally Posted By: Harv3
To the contrary, those with high incomes contribute disproportionately to income tax revenues.

Isn't that where the thread began, Harv? The WSJ skewed some data to show this to be the case. I skewed the same data to show that people with low incomes contribute disproportionately to income tax revenues. I have my opinion, the WSJ has theirs. Obviously you agree with theirs. But it is still an opinion based on data.
You overlook for your own convenience the citation from the Tax Foundation which demonstrates the disproportionate contribution of high earners. Would welcome your critique of this data when you find it. TTFN

If you and yours are bringing in $40,000 a year, you're doing better than half the households in America.

Or, as a Washington think tank recently pointed out: If you're a teacher married to a policeman, your combined household income puts you in the top 25 percent of all households in the nation.

Below you'll find the average income picture sliced into income levels. Think of this chart as a parking ramp. If your household income is $170,000, you're among the nation's top 10 percent wage earners and get to park on the top floor.

Anything in six figures means you're in the top 20 percent and get to park on the floor right below.

Of course, income is only one part of the equation defining where you stand. Net worth is more telling. Net worth, as every financially precocious schoolchild knows, is the sum of one's assets -- home equity, investments, savings accounts, retirement funds, cars, furnishings and such things as jewelry, furs, wine collection, old baseball cards -- minus all outstanding liabilities such as mortgage balance, revolving and credit card debt, college loans and so on. Across all households, the national median net worth is $86,000. Half of your fellow citizens have more than that, half less. As you see, there's a massive disparity between the haves and have-nots.

Net worth parking ramp
Net worth (percentile) Median net worth (rounded)
Level VI (90 to 100) $833,600
Level V (80 to 89.9) $263,100
Level IV (60 to 79.9) $141,500
Level III (40 to 59.9) $62,500
Level II (20 to 39.9) $37,200
Level I (less than 20) $7,900
Source: Family Net Worth, 2001 Federal Reserve Board Survey

We live in a country that once celebrated itself as egalitarian, yet 1 percent of the population -- nearly 3 million people -- currently has as much money as the 100 million people at the bottom of the ramp.

I found this information informative: Where Do You Stand on America's Wealth Spectrum? And of course, there is this: