Originally posted by WATU2:
What do you attribute this shift in wealth to? Is your view that the tax code had nothing to do with it?
The Bush tax cuts are still with us. Heck 60% of Obama's stimulus consisted of tax cuts. You could add in Bush era incentives for US companies to send millions of jobs off shore and to hold those offshore earnings abroad tax free, and similar moves.
Regardless, it is still a redistribution of income. Of course, the irony is that we see the very people who back these pernicious policies whine about a 'redistribtion' of income away from the wealthy and corporate interests when the very opposite is in effect.
Originally posted by lawpoke87:
I said I didn't understand how the tax burden of the poor (which is virtually non-existent) as far as federal income tax has contributed to the wealth gap. Since the poor pay little of any income tax how can paying virtually no federal taxes shift wealth from the poor to the rich? Agree that the code has greatly benefitted the rich and has contributed to the growth of their fortunes.
The wealth transfer began in earnest in 2004 (Dubya) and has accelerated under the Obama administration. American families have lost an average of 39% of its wealth (inflation adjusted) from 2004 to date. Wages have been stagnant for over a decade for the American worker. The stock markets have rebounded under Obama and while job creation is showing signs of life most of these jobs are lower paying and/or part time.