re: #52 MsJ

Ah, the WSJ. This was their brilliance today in my notifications.

Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax

Households with $150,000 or more in income make up 52% of total income nationally but pay large portion of total taxes

…

The results show how steeply progressive the U.S. income tax remains. For 2018, households in the top 20% will have income of about $150,000 or more and 52% of total income, about the same as in 2017. But they will pay about 87% of income taxes, up from about 84% last year.

By contrast, the lower 60% of households, who have income up to about $86,000, receive about 27% of income. As a group, this tier will pay no net federal income tax in 2018 vs. 2% of it last year.

We’re so progressive.

They excluded 2019 when the real fun begins.

I always hate this characterization because it excludes the other income tax: FICA taxes. Let’s add them back in. You may also want to add in all the other taxes people pay to see how much they support government: sales tax, property taxes, gas taxes etc. The WSJ has always been dishonest to its core, especially anything on its opinion pages, — and that preceded its acquisition by Murdoch