Because the middle class is shrinking. The wealthy also use their money to lobby against new taxes that would fund public education.

Hey look, numbers that don't mean what the person said.

What percentage of their wealth do they pay? What are their effective tax rates compared to the working class? Why are capital gains taxes so much less than most income taxes? Why does our "progressive" tax rate stop growing in the 150k range or so? Which one of those groups can afford lawyers to structure their incomes to pay even less?

The rich are not paying their fair share and generally have been paying less and taking more for decades, I don't know what you are on about.

> Why does our "progressive" tax rate stop growing in the 150k range or so

I believe it actually stops at around 700k for married couples and 575k for singles.

You're right, I mixed up when I moved to Cali my tax rate increased, but I wasn't making near there hah!

For a different view under the line, check this calculator to see how much less the wealthy are taxed nowadays compared to pretty much any time last century except the wild 30s. All that money is not going into education, roads, healthcare, you name it anymore, an entire system of public funding collapses.

https://qz.com/74271/income-tax-rates-since-1913