Comment

Don't Blame the 1% for America's Pay Gap

55
Achilles Tang4/26/2012 5:06:49 pm PDT

re: #54 Bob Levin

We’re not going to agree on this, but I could easily argue that your concept of fairness is getting in the way of analyzing the facts. Even though this is the present, I think one should analyze it as if it were history.

I don’t agree that we can’t agree, but you seem determined that we can’t, which suggests that you are prone to justifying the status quo regardless of the facts; many of which you gave are irrelevant. For example you suggest that Sweden is a small country and therefore unique due to that alone, but it operates in a global economy just like every US state, however small, ultimately does also.

As it stands now, you would believe that the Swedes are somehow inherently more fair than Americans. Until you live in Sweden and find that they are pretty much like everyone else. Or perhaps you wish to believe that the 1% percent are actually cold-hearted unfair people who control the government—until you meet people who are wealthy, who don’t mind being taxed, who give to charity, who are smart and caring.

I said nothing of the sort. FYI I was born there many many years ago. There are probably just as many “unfair” and “fair” people in Sweden as anywhere else, except that their tax system doesn’t let some get away with paying half or less of their share, as the US system does. I don’t buy trickle down. It seems you do. The simple fact is that income tax is on income, not business investment. Nobody who receives millions in income pays “income” tax on what they might invest in business, before taxes.

I’ve met people who are astoundingly greedy, but have very little money. I’ve met people who are astoundingly greedy who have a lot of money. Therefore, I’m not keen on using character traits to explain sociology. I like using historical methods.

I am not using character traits to explain anything, and if you want history don’t cherry pick your ages. The news these days is full of charts (except on Fox) showing how just the last decade or so has given an enormous boost to high incomes, and nothing to middle or low.

How many jobs, for example, has Romney created in the just the last three or four years on his $20,000,000 plus yearly income on which he pays 14% tax?

I’m not spinning anything. You asked me how I would explain some numbers. I said that there are a lot of ways to explain numbers, and here’s one explanation. But whatever explanation you choose, you would have to test it.

The test is there in the results is it not? You know what they say about people who do the same thing over and over and expect a different result each time. :=)