Skip to main content
  • IetpShops , flat black nike free run boots clearance shoes , Nike+ Installation accomplishment Tokyo Ugokidase Station
  • TEEN Air Jordan Red 13 Retro KSA playground , Украина #106433226 , Мужская зипка air jordan Red чёрная / брендовые мужские кофты на застёжке аир джордан флис — цена 1550 грн в каталоге Кофты ✓ Купить мужские вещи по доступной цене на Шафе
  • AssomasulShops , Women's Nike cheap cool nike high top shoes for women kewtee , Shop The Latest Releases & Next Drops , nike arrowz mens sneakers for women
  • nike sportswear womens gym vintage romper color , SBD , Custom Painted Nike Air Force 1s
  • nike air vapormax plus cw7014 100 release date Low Anthracite Gum Release Date - nike lebron 17 global currency mens - IetpShops
  • air jordan 1 mid diamond shorts
  • Air Jordan 1 Mid Tie Dye DM1200 001 Release Date 4
  • Nike KD 15 Aunt Pearl Release Date
  • air jordan 1 retro high og chicago on foot
  • Cherry Jordan 11 Release Date
  • Home
  • Calendar
  • About Us
  • Watch/Listen
  • FOIL Docs
  • Editorial Policy
  • Log in
  • Publish Article

Upcoming Events

No upcoming calendar events.

Inequalities, Taxes, and More Inequalities

Primary tabs

  • View(active tab)
  • Devel
Submitted by Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer on Fri, 2012-08-03 22:37

 

During roughly the same period, however, hourly wages declined by more than 7 percent. (Robert Frank, “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore,” The New York Times, October 16, 2010).

In other words, not only are the rich getting richer, the rest of us are getting poorer.

What has Contributed to Increased Inequality?

Many factors have converged to produce these trends. Good-paying manufacturing jobs have migrated overseas. Technology has replaced many other good-paying jobs. More importantly, across the country many unions have demonstrated an overwhelming willingness to accept concessions without waging a struggle, thereby contributing to the growing inequalities. This willingness to give up hard won gains in turn has resulted in the continuing decline of union membership, which now stands at 8 percent. Who would want to join a union and pay dues only to make concessions? (In contrast, in the 1930s when unions were staging all-out fights for better pay and working conditions, and winning, union membership surged.) The decline of unions signifies the loss of a powerful weapon that can be used to defend the standard of living of the working class.

But the government has played an especially insidious role in contributing to growing inequalities. In their book, “Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer – and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class” (2010), Professors Jacob Hacker (Yale) and Paul Pierson (U.C. Berkeley) argued that changing tax rates has been a major factor underlying growing inequality. 

Former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert provided a summary of their conclusions: “The authors … argue persuasively that the economic struggles of the middle and working classes in the U.S. since the late 1970s were not primarily the result of globalization and technological changes but rather a long series of policy changes in government that overwhelmingly favored the very rich. Those changes were the result of increasingly sophisticated, well-financed and well-organized efforts by the corporate and financial sectors to tilt government policies in their favor, and thus in favor of the very wealthy. From tax laws to deregulation to corporate governance to safety net issues, government action was deliberately shaped to allow those who were already very wealthy to amass an ever increasing share of the nation’s economic benefits” (“Fast Track to Inequality,” November 1, 2010).

Others have concurred in this assessment of the role of the government: “The state and federal governments are largely responsible for the widening gap between the rich and poor in the United States and should institute policy changes – including reforms to the tax code and more investment in education – to help reverse this 30-year trend, economists and researchers told state lawmakers Wednesday” (The San Francisco Chronicle, Marisa Lagos, December 8, 2011, “Government Gets Blamed for Widening Wealth Gap”).

Government policy, then, is playing a decisive role in creating and accelerating the rate of inequality. The rich have taken full advantage of their wealth to lobby the politicians — Democrats and Republicans alike  — in order to secure passage of legislation that redistributes wealth from the working class and the poor to themselves. Consequently, while the wealth of the rich is soaring, their taxes are plummeting, further exacerbating inequalities and creating a vicious cycle: more money pays for more lobbying which creates more money.

Increased Taxation on the the Non-Wealthy

Meanwhile, even though the income of working people and the poor has declined, their taxes have actually increased.

Robert Reich again provides a helpful summary of these trends: “Yet even as their share of the nation’s total income has withered, the tax burden on average workers has grown. They’re shelling out a far bigger chunk of incomes in payroll taxes, sales taxes and property taxes than 30 years ago. It’s just the opposite for the superrich. Over the last three decades, the richest 1 percent’s share of national income has doubled (from 10 percent in 1981 to well over 20 percent now). The share going to the richest one-tenth of 1 percent has tripled. And they’re doing better than ever. The median pay for top executives at 200 major companies was $9.6 million last year, topping pre-recession highs. Total compensation on Wall Street hit a record $135 billion. The heads of the top 25 hedge funds made almost $1 billion each. Yet, remarkably, tax rates on the very rich have plummeted. From the 1940s until 1980, the top income-tax rate on the highest earners in America was at least 70 percent. In the 1950s, it was 91 percent. Now it’s 35 percent. Even if you include deductions and credits, the rich are paying a far lower share of their incomes in taxes than at any time since World War II” (“Wealthy Americans not paying fair share of taxes,” April 17, 2011).

Effects of Tax Trends

Declining taxes on the rich have devastated state and local budgets, causing chronic budget deficits. David Cay Johnston explains: “Tax sheltering has cost states more than a third of their revenue from taxes on corporate profits, a new study showed yesterday, adding to the severe strain on state finances across the country” (“Business Tax Shelters a Drain on States’ Finances, Study Says, The New York Times, July 16, 2003).

And this has led to one more brutal phase of the struggle between working people and the rich. Instead of raising taxes on the rich so that government programs could be properly funded, politicians have been swayed by the rich — despite their surging income — to go after everyone but them. Accordingly, public education has been cut, vital social services have been slashed, public pensions have been underfunded, and the list goes on, negatively impacting almost all working people in one way or another. 

The Corporate Media’s Role

The corporate media has been playing a vital role in this struggle conducted by the rich. While reporting that inequalities in wealth have grown and taxes on the rich have declined, when it comes to budget deficits and underfunded pension funds, they conveniently fail to connect these problems to the tax structure, leading their readers to believe that there simply is no money anywhere available in society or the problem lies with too generous pensions, despite the fact that in California, for example, “almost half of California workers will face significant economic hardship in retirement” (Kathleen Pender, “California Workers to Face Hardships in Retirement,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 9, 2011).

An Alternative Approach

In order to defend themselves and the kind of services that government should provide, working people need to mount a massive movement with a central demand: “Tax the Rich!” Of course, in the current period, only the unions have the resources and ability to organize such a campaign. Thus far many have chosen to provide only lip service to the idea of raising taxes on the rich while, instead, devoting their money and energy to electing Democrats to office, who then accept money from large corporations and the rich, who in turn demand more tax breaks. Meanwhile, union membership continues to fall.

It is time for the union movement to reclaim its historic role as the defender of working people and rise up to create a movement —independent of the politicians — by organizing huge demonstrations to demand higher taxes on the rich. This movement could then serve as the first step in the creation of an independent labor party that would represent not just union members but all the 99%.

 

About the Authors
 
Ann Robertson is a Lecturer at San Francisco State University and a member of the California Faculty Association. Bill Leumer is a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 853 (ret.). Both are writers for Workers Action and may be reached at sanfrancisco@workerscompass.org.
Economy
Labor
  • Facebook logo
  • Google logo
  • identi.ca logo
  • Twitter logo
  • Digg logo
  • del.icio.us logo
  • Reddit logo
  • StumbleUpon logo
  • Yahoo logo
  • Log in or register to post comments

Search form

Local News

Did District Attorney Sandra Doorley Violate Ethics Guidelines While Attending a Local Republican Fundraiser in May?
Jim Goodman - Sleeper Cell for the Revolution!
The Press as Powdered Donut with Blue Badge in the Middle
Blueprint for Engagement: Evaluating Police / Community Relations Final Report (2017)
The Police-Civilian Foot Patrol: An Evaluation of the PAC-TAC Experiemnt in Rochester, New York (June 1975)
Police Killing of Denise Hawkins (1975)
Complaint Investigation Committee Legislation (1977)
Race Rebellion of July 1964
Selections Regarding the Police Advisory Board (1963-1970)
Prelude to the Police Advisory Board
A.C. White (January 26, 1963)
Police Raid on Black Muslim Religious Service (January 6, 1963)
Rufus Fairwell (August 12, 1962)
Incarcerated Worker sheds light on Prison Labor Conditions during Pandemic
Police and Political Commentary
BWC video indicates Mark Gaskill was holding his phone as police shouted "gun"
How the NY Attorney General's defended the police who killed Daniel Prude
Hats off to Kropotkin!!
Agreement between the City of Rochester and the Rochester Police Locust Club, 2016 - 2019
Facebook Posts Lead to Federal Rioting Charges for Justice for Daniel Prude Protester

Recent Comments

Any status on FOIL request?
Media's Goebbels
Related
Related
USA as NAZI criminals
oops
PS
A message of Truth from Geral
Fyi
See related data...

Syndication

  • Feature Stories
  • Local News

Account Creation Policy Change

Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.

We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning.  We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site.  Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"

Editorial Meeting Times / Locations

The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly.
We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org.
Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.

Global IMC Network

To be downloaded