Re:Economics focus: Don’t look down
by _delirium on Thursday August 18, 2011 @05:07AM
(#2898527)
The money isn't really coming from them, though. Only 50% of U.S. households pay net taxes at all, so most of the lower-middle-class isn't paying anything, not even enough to cover their own use of government services, let alone anyone else's. I believe the top 1/3 pay virtually all taxes (>90%).
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Think through the implications of those numbers you've posted, and particularly think about what that might imply about the distribution of wealth in the US.
The bottom 60% of the US population has around 5% of the aggregate wealth. That's the majority of the population.
The top 20% of the US population possess 84% of the wealth. And the curve is very steep, too; the top tenth of a percent holds a whole lot of that wealth, and it's increasing rapidly.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/makingsen...
That's Federal Income tax they aren't paying, which is only one tax of many.
Welfare recipients still pay sales & use tax as well as property taxes (either directly or indirectly via rent payments).