The biggest winners of the last decade, in terms of income and wealth growth, have not been even the richest 1 percent, but the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. (Phone: Shutterstock)
Sep 04, 2019
Presidential candidates should take a pledge: The middle class should not pay one dollar more in new taxes until the super-rich pay their fair share.
Already candidates are outlining ambitious programs to improve health care, combat climate change, and address the opioid crisis -- and trying to explain how they'll pay for it.
President Trump, on the other hand, wants to give corporations and the richest 1 percent more tax breaks to keep goosing a lopsided economic boom -- even as deficit hawks moan about the exploding national debt and annual deficits topping $1 trillion.
Eventually someone is going to have to pay the bills. If history is a guide, the first to pay will be the broad middle class, thanks to lobbyists pulling the strings for the wealthy and big corporations.
Here's a different idea: Whatever spending plan is put forward, the first $1 trillion in new tax revenue should come exclusivelyfrom multi-millionaires and billionaires.
In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
Four decades of stagnant wages plus runaway housing and health care costs have clobbered the middle class. In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
The biggest winners of the last decade, in terms of income and wealth growth, have not been even the richest 1 percent, but the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. This 0.1 percent includes households with incomes over $2.4 million, and wealth starting at $32 million.
They own more wealth than the bottom 80 percent combined. Yet these multi-millionaires and billionaires have seen their taxes decline over the decades, in part because the tax code favors wealth over work.
This richest 0.1 percent receives two-thirds of their income from investments, while most working families have little capital income and depend on wages. But our rigged system taxes most investment income from wealth at a top rate of about 24 percent -- considerably lower than the top 37 percent rate for work.
One way to ensure that the wealthy pay first is to institute a 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million. This "multi-millionaire surtax" would raise nearly $600 billion in revenue over 10 years, according to an upcoming study from the Tax Policy Center.
The surtax would apply to income earned from work (wages and salaries) and to investment income gained from wealth, including capital gains and dividends. So those with capital income over $2 million would not get a preferential tax rate.
The multi-millionaire surtax is easy to understand, simple to apply, and effective -- because it covers all kinds of income, making it difficult for the wealthy to avoid.
And it is laser focused on the super-rich. Anyone earning below $2 million a year will not pay a dime.
As a nation, we will need to raise trillions to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and to address urgent priorities such as health care, climate change, child care, higher education, opioid addiction, and more.
The middle class should have 100 percent confidence that they won't be asked to pony up until Wall Street speculators and billionaires pay the piper. A multi-millionaire surtax is a good first step.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com
Presidential candidates should take a pledge: The middle class should not pay one dollar more in new taxes until the super-rich pay their fair share.
Already candidates are outlining ambitious programs to improve health care, combat climate change, and address the opioid crisis -- and trying to explain how they'll pay for it.
President Trump, on the other hand, wants to give corporations and the richest 1 percent more tax breaks to keep goosing a lopsided economic boom -- even as deficit hawks moan about the exploding national debt and annual deficits topping $1 trillion.
Eventually someone is going to have to pay the bills. If history is a guide, the first to pay will be the broad middle class, thanks to lobbyists pulling the strings for the wealthy and big corporations.
Here's a different idea: Whatever spending plan is put forward, the first $1 trillion in new tax revenue should come exclusivelyfrom multi-millionaires and billionaires.
In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
Four decades of stagnant wages plus runaway housing and health care costs have clobbered the middle class. In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
The biggest winners of the last decade, in terms of income and wealth growth, have not been even the richest 1 percent, but the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. This 0.1 percent includes households with incomes over $2.4 million, and wealth starting at $32 million.
They own more wealth than the bottom 80 percent combined. Yet these multi-millionaires and billionaires have seen their taxes decline over the decades, in part because the tax code favors wealth over work.
This richest 0.1 percent receives two-thirds of their income from investments, while most working families have little capital income and depend on wages. But our rigged system taxes most investment income from wealth at a top rate of about 24 percent -- considerably lower than the top 37 percent rate for work.
One way to ensure that the wealthy pay first is to institute a 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million. This "multi-millionaire surtax" would raise nearly $600 billion in revenue over 10 years, according to an upcoming study from the Tax Policy Center.
The surtax would apply to income earned from work (wages and salaries) and to investment income gained from wealth, including capital gains and dividends. So those with capital income over $2 million would not get a preferential tax rate.
The multi-millionaire surtax is easy to understand, simple to apply, and effective -- because it covers all kinds of income, making it difficult for the wealthy to avoid.
And it is laser focused on the super-rich. Anyone earning below $2 million a year will not pay a dime.
As a nation, we will need to raise trillions to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and to address urgent priorities such as health care, climate change, child care, higher education, opioid addiction, and more.
The middle class should have 100 percent confidence that they won't be asked to pony up until Wall Street speculators and billionaires pay the piper. A multi-millionaire surtax is a good first step.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com
Presidential candidates should take a pledge: The middle class should not pay one dollar more in new taxes until the super-rich pay their fair share.
Already candidates are outlining ambitious programs to improve health care, combat climate change, and address the opioid crisis -- and trying to explain how they'll pay for it.
President Trump, on the other hand, wants to give corporations and the richest 1 percent more tax breaks to keep goosing a lopsided economic boom -- even as deficit hawks moan about the exploding national debt and annual deficits topping $1 trillion.
Eventually someone is going to have to pay the bills. If history is a guide, the first to pay will be the broad middle class, thanks to lobbyists pulling the strings for the wealthy and big corporations.
Here's a different idea: Whatever spending plan is put forward, the first $1 trillion in new tax revenue should come exclusivelyfrom multi-millionaires and billionaires.
In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
Four decades of stagnant wages plus runaway housing and health care costs have clobbered the middle class. In an economy with staggering inequalities -- the income and wealth gaps are at their widest level in a century -- the middle class shouldn't be hit up a penny more until the rich pay up.
The biggest winners of the last decade, in terms of income and wealth growth, have not been even the richest 1 percent, but the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. This 0.1 percent includes households with incomes over $2.4 million, and wealth starting at $32 million.
They own more wealth than the bottom 80 percent combined. Yet these multi-millionaires and billionaires have seen their taxes decline over the decades, in part because the tax code favors wealth over work.
This richest 0.1 percent receives two-thirds of their income from investments, while most working families have little capital income and depend on wages. But our rigged system taxes most investment income from wealth at a top rate of about 24 percent -- considerably lower than the top 37 percent rate for work.
One way to ensure that the wealthy pay first is to institute a 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million. This "multi-millionaire surtax" would raise nearly $600 billion in revenue over 10 years, according to an upcoming study from the Tax Policy Center.
The surtax would apply to income earned from work (wages and salaries) and to investment income gained from wealth, including capital gains and dividends. So those with capital income over $2 million would not get a preferential tax rate.
The multi-millionaire surtax is easy to understand, simple to apply, and effective -- because it covers all kinds of income, making it difficult for the wealthy to avoid.
And it is laser focused on the super-rich. Anyone earning below $2 million a year will not pay a dime.
As a nation, we will need to raise trillions to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and to address urgent priorities such as health care, climate change, child care, higher education, opioid addiction, and more.
The middle class should have 100 percent confidence that they won't be asked to pony up until Wall Street speculators and billionaires pay the piper. A multi-millionaire surtax is a good first step.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.