Tax the Wealthy and Deadbeat Corporations to Close Budget Gaps
If corporations and households with $1 million income paid at the same levels they did in 1961, the Treasury would collect an additional $716 billion a year.
Before any government shutdown–or drastic state and federal budget cuts –we should reverse huge tax cuts for the wealthy and deadbeat corporations.

When you hear politicians lament that “we’re broke,” consider this fact: If corporations and households with $1 million income paid at the same levels they did in 1961, the Treasury would collect an additional $716 billion a year – or $7 trillion over a decade.

Our communities are facing mammoth state and federal budget cuts because Congress has, in large part, failed to sufficiently tax America's millionaires and billionaires or prevent aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies. The rest of us are paying to pick up the slack in budget cuts and future taxes.

There are two primary explanations behind our current budget “squeeze.” First, income and wealth have become extremely concentrated in the hands of the super-rich. The richest 1 percent of households own over 35.6 percent of all private wealth, approximately $20 trillion. The number of households with incomes exceeding $1 million has grown from 15,753 in 1961 to 361,000 today, adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile the middle-class standard of living is collapsing and poverty rates are at a 15-year high.

Second, we’ve dramatically reduced taxes on the super-rich and global corporations. A new report by the Institute for Policy Studies, “Unnecessary Austerity, Unnecessary Shutdown” (which I coauthored), chronicles 50 years of tax shifts off of the wealthy and multinational corporations onto middle-class taxpayers and small businesses. The report’s finding include:


Households with incomes over $1 million in 1961 paid an average 43.1 percent of their incomes in federal income taxes. Today, households with $1 million income pay 23.1 percent, almost half as much, adjusting for inflation.
If households with income over $1 million today paid their federal income taxes at the same rate that comparable households paid taxes in 1961, we would this year raise an additional $231 billion.
If U.S. corporations paid at the same effective tax rate that they paid in 1961, the additional tax revenue would total $485 billion.
In 1961, small business owners and individuals paid twice as much in federal income taxes as large corporations. By 2011, small business owners and individuals will be paying nearly five times in taxes what corporations pay.

Congress and special interest lobbyists have made mincemeat of our tax code, losing hundreds of billions in revenue. Worse, lawmakers have averted their eyes as corporate lobbyists drill new tax loopholes and extract new corporate welfare subsidies.

That’s how a profitable company like General Electric aggressively avoids taxes. Since 2006, General Electric has reported over $26 billion in profits, yet paid not one penny in U.S. taxes.

Other huge global companies such as Verizon, Boeing, ExxonMobil, and Federal Express also pay no or very low taxes. These artful tax dodgers use accounting gymnastics to move money to overseas tax havens like the Cayman Islands or Ireland. They pretend to earn their profits offshore and then report their paper losses here in the United States—reducing their responsibility to Uncle Sam.

The “Unnecessary Austerity” report identifies over $4 trillion in potential revenue over the next decade. Closing offshore tax havens could generate an estimated $100 billion a year. Adding new top tax brackets for millionaires could generate another $60-80 billion. Instituting a financial transaction tax could generate $150 billion a year.

This month is the first salvo in a multi-year battle over the role of government and the quality of our lives. At each step, we’ll need to remind lawmakers to reverse irresponsible tax breaks before budget cuts and shutdown theatrics.

Before we lay off another worker, we should heed the message from US Uncut, the feisty direct action movement emerging in different communities around the country: “Before you cut, make the tax dodgers pay up.”

http://www.alternet.org/story/150550/we_don't_need_to_shut_down_the_government%3A_tax_the_wealthy_and_deadbeat_corporations_to_close_budget_gaps?page=2

All they have to do is take away the exorbitant retirement for congress and make them pay into social security like everyone else.

Ah, another rubbish article attacking "the rich". These writers need to pull their heads out of their azzes and learn how economics works.

Another "we need to tax more" thread instead of spending less. Maybe you should look at the amount of money the government spends compared to what is needs to spend.

I think america was far more prosperouse when the rich paid their fair share of taxes. Look at things now after decades of tax cuts. We have had welfare reform many years ago and it is not a generouse system. I think way to many people are so propangized they have a pavlovian responce to the topic without even thinking about it.

The articl simply states that if we had the tax rate we had in 1961 we woulndt be in this financial mess and the numbers projected support this claim.


So ask yourself after decades of tax cuts on the most affluent what has it accomplished? This country is falling apart at the seams the grand economic plan of trickle down economics was a total failure and now the middle class and poor have to sacrafice even more.

Its just laughable that poor and middle class people can defend this situation. It is a testement to modern propaganda.

You have the propaganda backwards. You have convinced yourself that the government should invade every aspect of everyone's life and provide for everything. You ignore personal responsibility which is what make this country great in the first place. All this control takes money and the government seeks an unlimited supply. When it can't get enough, it simply prints more making all that we own worth less. The cure for propaganda is education. The last election results were about the population of the US having enough of the wild spending spree.

seriously? I have never said the government should invade peoples lives. I have spoken many times about how a woman has a right to family planning something the republicans wish to deny them.

I however do think the government has a role to play in balencing the powers of big business and the common man. The playing field is so uneven. You may be content to work harder for less while the economic elite monopolize the world I howerver am not.

America has enough prosparity for everyone, the trouble is the rich cant have enough private jets or private islands or enough houses.

You dont find it alarming that the ultra rich have inceased their net worth all the while the rest of the country is going broke?

Its fairly obviouse that the wealth of the middle class has trickled upwards and if trends continue we will have two classes the rich and the poor. With our trillions spent on defence this will be hardly a way of life or a country worth defending.

You constantly (as in now) state that the "cure" is more taxes The problem is the growth of government into every aspect of our lives. All that money goes to someone in government telling someone someone else what they can and cannot do. The democrats you support crammed in the Food Safety Bill in lame duck session that only exists to control the food production ability of the farmer. Are these the "rich guys" you refer to?

Begin Quote: A small farmer's perspective

As Anthony Boutard, a certified organic, urban farmer explains in the video, this legislation will be good for eaters, but it will place a tremendous burden on one particular class of grower, the midsize farmer, those by the government’s definition, whose revenues fall within the $500,000-1,000,000 range. Without the Tester amendment, small, diversified farmers like Anthony Boutard that may grow over 200 different food crops, the testing requirements alone, would have been too onerous, too costly, and time consuming to bear. While food safety concerns have grown exponentially in recent years, it’s important to note, as Boutard emphasizes in this video, almost all food contamination problems are not related to small or midsized farm operations, and therefor careful consideration for new regulatory requirements be considered against their net effect to the bottom line for these particular low risk groups.

End Quote: http://cookingupastory.com/the-food-safety-and-modernization-act-a-small-farmers-perspective

Your form of politics is all about control ... the power to take from someone and give to someone else, and to control what they do. It isn't the rich your politics are shooting at ... it's everyone. Your form of Communism is thinly disguised.

You know, when I run out of money I have to stop buying things...even if I ned them or they are for a good or worthy cause. If I overdraft my checking account accidentally, they penalize me...and if I do it intentionally or repeatedly, there is the promise of PRISON. Which of you who makes more than I do, has a bigger house it car or some other asset, or who's having payday TODAY (mine is a week out) is going to step up and let me do some "feels good" shopping this weekend??? Or would you expect me to SHUT IT DOWN and become fiscally responsible?

Hmmmmmmm???

ou know, I think an even better idea is to go out and get the money.

How?

Steal it?

Or work for it!

Galendgirl's best option would be to work for it. the other could get her thrown in prison. The Government has other options, all legal.

Realy laughable the only class that has seen its taxes decrease and its income increase are the economic elite. I am not talking about small to mid size farmers or government invadeing our lives.

Before we destroy the less than generouse social saftey net programs we have and privatize medicare and social security we should turn back the tax table to that of the 1960's. All the data says that if we had the same tax rates then as now america can afford to be a descent society and one worth defending with a trillion dollar military.

Oh yea its about control all right, the economic elite want to sink their teeth into social security and bust the unions and walk all over the little guys.

I am a little guy and so are you so why are you on the wrong side of the fence?

If you lost your job and had no insurence and couldnt find a job I would expect you to apply for government aid like everyone else.

If you had children they would get insurence and you unemployment.

I would expect that everyone is against taxes untill the time comes when they need help then they understand that government often is the only solution availible.

You can't seem to see the forest for the trees. The money spent for the "farm" bill and thousands like it is the problem, not taxing the rich. You can't see the handwriting at the end of the road where all the money you and your buddies have spent bankrupts the nation and there is no social net left for anyone. All you can see is tax and spend and are blind to the incredible damage being done to the US economy. Even many of the democrats are afraid of what has been done by their liberal leaders. You represent the farthest left fringe of America. In face of all logic and reason, all you can think of is who else can we tax and how much more can we spend. The US is broke.

* The top 1 percent: Americans who earned an adjusted gross income of $410,096 or more accounted for 22.8 percent of all wages. But they paid 40.4 percent of total reported income taxes, an increase from 39.9 percent in 2006, according to the IRS.

* The top 5 percent: Americans who earned $160,041 or more accounted for 37.4 percent of all wages in 2007. But they paid 60.6 percent of the country's total reported income taxes, up from 60.1 percent a year earlier.

* The top 10 percent: Americans who earned at least $113,018 paid 71.2 percent of the nation's income taxes, up from 70.8 percent a year earlier.

* The top 25 percent: Americans who earned at least $66,532 paid 86.6 percent of the nation's income taxes, up from 86.3 percent a year earlier.

* The top 50 percent: Americans who earned at least $32,879 paid 97.1 percent of the nation's income taxes, up from 97 percent a year earlier.

* The bottom 50 percent: Americans who earned less than $32,879 paid 2.9 percent of the nation's income taxes, down from 3 percent a year earlier.

There are far more people $32,000-$113,000 than there are making $400,000 or more so those who make that much pay a considerable amount of tax. You will not make in your lifetime what Bill Gates pays in taxes each year. Again I ask how you can justify punishing someone who has worked hard to achieve financial success then tell them they have pay more because we (the government) are irresponsible jugheads who have no concept of living within there means.

Your missing the point, no big suprise there. There is no denying that if we had not decreased the taxes on the weathy and kept the tax code the same as 1961 we wouldnt be haveing this conversation because our country wouldnt be bankrupt.

Let alone fighting wars for no damn good reasone. You fail to see our current situation is because of the policies of the republicans and the "No Taxes crowd"

the solution is not more of the same garbage that got us in this mess.

Why should I care anyhow? My boat is safe in the water at least for the next four years anyhow. guarenteed raises and benefits and retirenment and a signing bonus to boot.

speaking of boots, the even raised our boot and glove allowence.

boots and gloves are very important things to have...

Funny thing is I dont need gloves anymore at least not the leather ones. My new skill actualy requires me to wear surgical gloves when I inspect the parts I machine.

Just because the Government has 'lawed' it legal don't mean its right.

Still stealing when you TAKE something from someone. (even if they are Scrouge).

This form of theivery has little to do with Robin Hood and a lot to do with the 'Sheriff of Nottingham'... (its taking by fiat).