The Bright Side Is There Is No Bright Side

I still can't figure out why so many ordinary people want to fight for less taxes for the rich. Read this, that the battle to be fought to increase capital gains taxes will be bloody. I think this guy is right. It's ironic that a country that was established by overthrowing tyranny and "taxation without representation" is now fully supportive of plutocracy. How did this happen? We used to have bloody fights about doing something big for the little guy.

On some level I suppose it's the whole thing where "you too can work hard and get rich" and that is true, but why is everything set up to help the rich hold on to all their money and make more AFTER they are rich? They won! That's enough! There are opportunities here to make out like a bandit. Why do they have to win AND not pay taxes? That just seems wacky. And why are all of these proles supporting it?

The "Tea Party" was originally a bunch of uppity pissed off commoners making it plain that the status quo was over. Now it's a bunch of guys helping out rich people? In the movies I saw the rich guys got thrown out of the castle, or learned a good lesson, like in "Scrooge." That was part of the fun. Will it be a good movie if the rich guy wins and everybody loses their job and there's just one rich guy left and he goes, "oh well, fuck 'em?" I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Capital gains are the key ingredient of income disparity in the US--and the force behind the winner takes all mantra of our economic system. If you want even out earning power in the U.S, you have to raise the 15% capital gains tax.

Income and wealth disparities become even more absurd if we look at the top 0.1% of the nation's earners-- rather than the more common 1%. The top 0.1%--about 315,000individuals out of 315 million--are making about half of all capital gains on the sale of shares or property after 1 year; and these capital gains make up 60% of the income made by the Forbes 400.

It's crystal clear that the Bush tax reduction on capital gains and dividend income in 2003 was the cutting edge policy that has created the immense increase in net worth of corporate executives, Wall St. professionals and other entrepreneurs.

Make no mistake; the battle that is to be fought over the coming attempt to reverse this reduction in capital gains will be bloody and intense. The facts are clear according to the Congressional Budget Office more than 80% of the increase in income inequality was the result of an increase in the share of household income from capital gains. In fact, you can go so far as to claim that "Capital Gains income is the most unevenly distributed--and volatile--source of household income," according to Laura D'Andrea Tyson, University of California business professor and former chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton.

[Forbes]