1) You said there was a huge debt bubble from 1896-1932. That is patently false except for the last few years of that period. 2) The tax code was very different pre-'86. No one can deny this. There were legal loopholes that no longer exist and tax evasion was easier. This means charts of marginal tax rates from 1935-1985 (or whatever) that imply some great benefit for today are an apples-to-oranges comparison. The "data" argument goes to your court. We don't know what "the ultra rich" actually paid back then, but it was much less than the top rates in most cases. Without controlling for other factors (i.e., much higher non-Federal taxes, a much less regulated society, thousands of other differences), you can't draw a meaningful conclusion. Also, that period was far from the "glory days." The Great Depression (which was handled much differently than prior depressions...and lasted much longer), the 1970s stagflation (considered impossible by Keynesians--they had to change their theories), no growth in the stock market from 1929-1954 or 1966-1982. 3) Instead of trolling and being a post whore here, it would do you a world of good to learn other things. Logical fallacies would be a great start. A limited grasp of Latin wouldn't hurt, though you should shore up on your English spelling and grammar first.
I did not say they were free to do whatever they want. Under the constitution only. 80% marginal tax rate would be highly acceptable to most Americans after we have been subsidizing wall street.
public servants are bought and paid for by politicians, who are bought and paid for by corporations, who are headed by the 1%. pensions assume 8% a year compounding. So corrupt and flies against all mathematics.
That might sell, but it would be a brainless, reactionary response. It does nothing to get to the root causes of the Wall St./government relationship and those who profit from it. Rest assured, Congress would loophole themselves out of it. Many of them have greatly expanded their net worth since becoming "representatives" of the people. The people it would hurt the most would be successful businessmen who don't profit from regulatory capture, TBTF relationships, legalized insider trading, etc.
I think a increasing marginal tax rates especially for the top 1% is something to consider. What other solutions would you propose??
The main problem is crony capitalism, but I can't give a one-sentence soundbite answer. The problem is multi-faceted and has developed over decades. Generally, it would involve a) No more bailouts b) A huge overhaul of regulations. c) As much decentralization as possible. The less power is concentrated at the Federal level, the less abuse occurs from the unholy banking/gov't/regulatory agency alliance
In my view the biggest problem is corporations which pay no tax, or even get a refund from the government when they are making billions. GE is a prime example. GE and Jeffrey Imelt were the largest contributor to the Obama campaign. I don't hear Obama calling for fairness and tax equity for his friends and contributors! If you want to generate additional revenue, start with collecting taxes at their actual rate, not their effective rate after loopholes and offshore corporate accounts. The tax code is a joke. Anyone making serious money can reduce their effective rate sometimes to zero. Increasing the rate to 80% on individuals does nothing to solve this problem. It only penalizes the people who can least afford it.
i still think you should be a property owner to have the right to vote. isn't that a way of preventing the masses from simply voting for wealth redistribution? i'm 100% in support of reinstating this.
Maybe he was able to fence some of the drugs he confiscated. Or maybe he pulled of a few heists while off duty.