Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95%

[JJIII]

More:

Table 3: Share of wealth held by the Bottom 99% and Top 1% in the United States, 1922-2004.
Bottom 99 percent Top 1 percent
1922 63.3% 36.7%
1929 55.8% 44.2%
1933 66.7% 33.3%
1939 63.6% 36.4%
1945 70.2% 29.8%
1949 72.9% 27.1%
1953 68.8% 31.2%
1962 68.2% 31.8%
1965 65.6% 34.4%
1969 68.9% 31.1%
1972 70.9% 29.1%
1976 80.1% 19.9%
1979 79.5% 20.5%
1981 75.2% 24.8%
1983 69.1% 30.9%
1986 68.1% 31.9%
1989 64.3% 35.7%
1992 62.8% 37.2%
1995 61.5% 38.5%
1998 61.9% 38.1%
2001 66.6% 33.4%
2004 65.7% 34.3%
Sources: 1922-1989 data from Wolff (1996). 1992-2004 data from Wolff (2007).

[JJIII]

My poor brain starts to hurt with that many numbers. Maybe someone can crunch them and make some sense of it and relate it to taxes paid.

[Charles]

Fuck 'em all, I'm goin' to "Party Town".

Chas

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by noonereal

If I read this right (help me on this) the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.

I am reading that chart the opposite way.

[cabinover]

Looks to me like it's always in a state of fluxuation with neither side getting ahead for long.

[cabinover]

It makes a difference which chart you're looking at. The first one says the poor are getting "less wealthy" as the government would put it.

The second one shows the rise and fall of both wealthy and not so wealthy.

So...which one isn't exactly being truthful?

[merrylander]

Of course they are as they have been stealing what little the poor have all these years.

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

I am reading that chart the opposite way.

Chart 1

Table 7: Share of capital income flowing to households in various income categories
Top 1% Top 5% Top 10% Bottom 80%
1979 37.8% 57.9% 66.7% 23.1%
2003 57.5% 73.2% 79.4% 12.6%

Clearly the wealthy have gained considerably.
That does not even take into consideration that in 1979 their share of the wealth was already ridiculously weighted toward them.

Chart 2 (table 3)

Table 3: Share of wealth held by the Bottom 99% and Top 1% in the United States, 1922-2004.
Bottom 99 percent Top 1 percent
1922 63.3% 36.7%
2004 65.7% 34.3%

This chat show that even after 80 years the top 1% of folks still have most the wealth.

Chart one shows income, chart two shows accumulated wealth. (as I read it)

[JJIII]

OK, so where does percentage of taxes paid fit in?

[noonereal]

I see no reference to taxes paid on either of these charts, strictly wealth and income