NYT - Ch. 12: Richest Are Leaving Even the Rich Behind

David Johnson in “Richest Are Leaving Even the Rich Far Behind” states that the people in the top 0.01 percent of the income distribution are benefiting the most from the tax cuts that President George W. Bush put in place in 2001. These people are making much more money than any other income distribution and thus are widening the gap of income inequality. They usually find loopholes in order to pay significantly lower taxes than what they should be paying and they are not affected by the “alternative minimum tax” that was put in place to ensure that the rich pay taxes.

Politicians know that this is happening but no one has done anything to stop it. Some argue that this is good for the economy because it encourages investments and innovation. However, this is bad for society because it increases inequality dramatically. If the bottom 90% of people is earning less than the top 10%, something is obviously wrong in this society. It is outrageous to know that politicians make “invisible policies”, as mentioned by Fischer and Voss in Inequality by Design, to advantage the rich while leaving the poor behind. The rich should be paying more income tax and property tax than the poor are. In order to make the rich contribute to social programs, the government should come together in making social programs universal. Thus, the rich should be contributing to social programs in a greater amount than the poor because these social programs will help society as a whole, such as universal health care and child care.

Some people say that it should not be a problem that the rich are getting richer because the poor are also getting richer. Even though everybody’s income might be increasing, it is definitely increasing in disproportionate amounts. This is problematic because as a society, things are becoming more unequal and are harming the bottom 90%. I think that if this is not fixed, people will eventually stop believing in the American dream and will do something to get wealth back from the hands of the few.