The ‘Buffett Rule’ in History’s Grand Sweep
President Obama has proposed a specific new minimum tax rate for millionaires. Should America's rich feel angry or relieved? We check the IRS tax data archives for an answer. The...
Taxes
Law and Order 24/7, Except at Tax Time
The rich don't much like paying taxes when tax rates run high. They don't much like paying taxes when tax rates run low either. Any tax system that subjects rich...
The Biggest Tax Cut of All
Between the 1950s and the 2000s marginal taxes on the wealthiest Americans have fallen from 90% to 35%. As late as 1982 the top marginal tax rate was still 50%,...
Make the Payroll Tax Cut Permanent
A basic principle of modern tax theory is that rich people should pay more as a percent of their income than poor people. The more income you have, the less...
Making the Payroll Tax Cut Revenue-Neutral
President Obama and Republican leaders are currently debating whether or not to extend the 2011 Social Security tax reductions for one more year. The usual Social Security payroll tax is...
The Alchemy of Our Awesomely Affluent
Today's super rich can't turn tin into gold. But they can get Uncle Sam to loan them free money. At the expense, of course, of America's bottom 99 percent. How...
After the Deficit Reduction Supercommittee, Back to School
Now that the Deficit Reduction Supercommittee has apparently failed to reach a consensus on how to cut the trillion-dollar federal budget deficit, the field is open for new ideas. Locking...
For Corporate Elite, a 50 Percent Tax Discount
By statute, corporations are supposed to face a 35 percent income tax on their profits. Over the last three years, a new report reveals, corporations are paying at half that...
The Greek Debt Crisis: What’s Going on in Europe?
As the economic news in the United States gets worse and worse every week, a lot of Americans are saying "at least we're not Europe." To read the press accounts,...