So, not long ago I finally got around to trying to re-vitalizing this blog, at least a bit. In so doing, I pondered on what sort of blog entries would make for good show. Long story short, I concluded that I needed content which would be interesting for readers while minimizing narcissism because I do so hate the online Facebook/Twitter/Blogging/etc induced self-centeredness which seems to characterize my generation. And by hate, I do mean hate, despite being myself guilt of it in no small degree.
In trying to write a thoughtful post with which I could add some value, I began doing some research on US income/tax/CPI numbers. The basic idea was to illustrate how the current debate, if you can call it that, in the USA, especially the Tea Party side of it, was so completely divorced from reality. Basically, I wanted to show, in graph format, that the notion that “raising taxes on the rich will destroy the universe” was, on the face of it, total bunk. While there’s certainly a philosophical argument to be made against raising taxes in that way, my point was to show that the world is a much more complicated place than “higher taxes kill jobs”.
So, I set out to prove this point. And promptly got lost in the details. However, I have managed to emerge with the evidence that follows. I will provide as little comment as I can so that you, dear (non-existent) reader can make up your own mind as to what the datum show.
Point 1:
There is no obvious correlation between the “Highest Marginal Tax Rate” (what’s on the books as the highest possible tax rate that anyone can pay) or the “Highest Marginal Tax Rate Paid by the Top 5% of Americans” (what was the rate actually paid by the average household in the top 5% of income) and GDP growth (which I am assuming as a proxy for economic growth and job creation).
- U.S. Highest Marginal Tax Rate, Highest Marginal Tax Rate Paid by top 5% of Income Earners and GDP, 1967-2009
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