Some Outrageous Facts About Inequality

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13579

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 10:46am.
Guest Commentary PAUL BUCHHEIT FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

Studying inequality in America reveals some facts that are truly hard to believe. Amidst all the absurdity a few stand out.


1. US companies in total pay a smaller percentage of taxes than the lowest-income 20% of Americans.

Total corporate profits for 2011 were $1.97 trillion. Corporations paid $181 billion in federal taxes (9%) and $40 billion in state taxes (2%), for a total tax burden of 11%. The poorest 20% of American citizens pay 17.4% in federal, state, and local taxes.


2. The high-profit, tax-avoiding tech industry was built on publicly-funded research. .....

3. The sales tax on a quadrillion dollars of financial sales is ZERO. .....

4. Many Americans get just a penny on the dollar.

-- For every dollar of NON-HOME wealth owned by white families, people of color have only one cent.

-- For every dollar the richest .1% earned in 1980, they've added three more dollars. The poorest 90% have added one cent.

-- For every dollar of financial securities (e.g., bonds) in the U.S., the bottom 90% of Americans have a penny and a half's worth.

-- For every dollar of 2008-2010 profits from Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, General Electric, and Dow Chemicals, the American public got a penny in taxes.


5. Our society allows one man or one family to possess enough money to feed EVERY hungry person on earth......

One Final Outrage...

In 2007 a hedge fund manager (John Paulson) conspired with a financial company (Goldman Sachs) to create packages of risky subprime mortgages, so that in anticipation of a housing crash he could use other people's money to bet against his personally designed sure-to-fail financial instruments. His successful gamble paid him $3.7 billion. Three years later he made another $5 billion, which in the real world would have been enough to pay the salaries of 100,000 health care workers.

As an added insult to middle-class taxpayers, the tax rate on most of Paulson's income was just 15%. As a double insult, he may have paid no tax at all, since hedge fund profits can be deferred indefinitely. As a triple insult, some of his payoff came from the middle-class taxpayers themselves, who bailed out the company (AIG) that had to pay off his bets.

And the people we elect to protect our interests are unable or unwilling to do anything about it.