Why Do Taxes Decrease Income Inequality?

In recent years, a growing gap between the wealthy and the middle class has grown, as the wealth of the world has increased significantly, yet only a minority of individuals get to enjoy it. Income inequality has been proven to be detrimental to not only the economy, but to the overall well-being of a nation as it leads to societal upset and can potentially prompt a decline in progression as a nation. Over time, income inequality has led to negative results in the United States, as well as many other nations including Greece. Consequently, the solution to prevent income inequality from deteriorating a nation and prevent economic upset is to ultimately tax those who are wealthier at a higher rate and put said money towards education and healthcare

"The most perennially political issues in the United States is the question of how much Americans should be taxed. Indeed, discounted over taxes was one of the major motivating factors in the revolution that established the United States as an independent nation"("Extending Tax Cuts", 1). Since taxes are one of the biggest topics in politics, there is always going to be two sides of the subject, and Taxes will always strike controversy in our country. The topic of having the rich pay more in tax has a deep history to consider, and there will always be both supporters and critics who continue to debate this topic.

Income inequality is often presented as the percentage of income to a percentage of populations. To put it simply, wealthy households of the top 1% are holding a greater share of the nation’s income than everyone else. “The United States in particular has much higher rates of income inequality than other developed countries” (Brooks, 2014). In recent years, economists have debated whether it has become a hindrance, has had no effect, or has helped sustain the American economy. That is to say has an increased concentration in the top 1% increased or decreased the economic well being of the country. There has been debate over the role of progressive taxes, which is taxes that are directly proportional to income earned, in the combatting income inequality. Finally, a question that often is central to the debate on income inequality is whether labor markets naturally create imbalance in wages.

The vast wealth inequality in America (and the rest of the world) has been cited as a problem by Obama in many of his State Of The Union address, the Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, and many other liberal politicians and economists. Their talk about the problem of how the “1%” help perpetuate the wealth inequality has brought this issue to the forefront of society. In America, many citizens believe firmly in the idea of equality. The fact that some people have more money than they could ever spend, while others live in poverty on the streets conflicts with that value of equality. The most famous reaction to this rampant inequality was the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in 2011. Tens of thousands of people camped out next to Wall Street offices in New York and several other financial centers across the nation to protest the inequality between the 1% and the other 99%. This infamous movement gained media attention as the vocal protesters wanted to make it known that the wealth divide is unacceptable and politicians must rectify the situation. One important policy tool the United States has implemented to combat wealth inequality is a progressive tax. This means that people with more income are taxed at a higher rate than those with lower income. However this tax system has many loopholes in the United States, and the wealthiest individuals are routinely able to avoid being taxed at a higher rate by distributing their wealth in bank accounts

There is a problem plaguing the United States: economic inequality. The financial gap between the rich and poor is widening and it only continues to increase. Not only is the rich becoming richer but the poor is becoming poorer. If some type of change doesn't happen it will cut the middle class. Although this is not a concerning matter to some, to others it's a huge concern and it continues to be a daily problem. Because economic inequality hurts the United States economy, the government should take steps towards reducing the gap between the rich and poor.

Imagine that the U.S economy is a group of ten people making a cake. Despite the fact that everyone contributed, one person would take 90% of the cake. The other nine would be left to fight over the renaming 10%. In what universe would this be a fair situation.

Income inequality has been an ongoing issue that has affects many American citizens for decades. Some Americans are more affected by income inequality than other Americans. This is an unfortunate fact, but there seems to be no easy solution and it seems it is getting worse. American citizens are losing hope in the system, and their voices screaming for change that benefits all, are rarely heard.

Income inequality in America has been a major issue for years. We can see the uneven distribution by comparing one of the world’s wealthiest man in Bill Gates to the average person. He has made over 50 billion dollars in his lifetime. Comparing him to the average person who makes 37 thousand dollars a year. Although, unemployment rate has decreased in the U.S, the gap between rich and poor in this country has dramatically increased. There are many contributions to the gap, such as different education levels among citizens, living conditions, taxes, difference between salaries, and more. Income inequality in the U.S needs to be addressed. This horrible problem in our country

Income inequality has been a progressively growing issue in the United States, even today. The problem dates back all the way to the Great Depression, although some researchers tend to think that it is older than that. The difference between the wealth of higher-income families and lower-income families has become a great issue. Many people, including our government, think that they know how they can fix it. They have tried time and time again to come up with solutions, yet we are still facing the same obstacle that we were almost one hundred years ago. The effects that this dilemma is setting forth for our United States’ economy, environment, and even our education is repulsing.

The rich should not be taxed more. Increasing tax rates for the upper class will not solve the present inequality problem. The wealthy americans should be expected the same amount of taxes as the poor for equality. Those who earn more shouldn't help the less fortunate because they worked harder for the money they earn.

Why shouldn’t the wealthiest of Americans pay a higher percentage of their income for taxes? Certainly, things would get better if the wealthy paid more taxes. This philosophy is why welfare continues to exist today. People worry more about what is right for the other person without looking at themselves and taking responsibility. It is overrun with individuals who prefer to be on welfare than to work hard and contribute to society. This doesn’t mean welfare is not needed, but that it should not be a career. It offers no permanent solution, but only prevents a real solution from being realized. So why should the wealthy pay a higher percentage of taxes just because they can afford it? They work hard, so shouldn’t they be allowed to keep what they earn? This is not an example of scrooge-like behavior, but that hard work should have its rewards. The way to a better life should start with hard work and the desire for independence from government support. This would help people regain personal pride and become productive members of society, rather than a drain on its resources. It is not a crime for the wealthiest to earn high incomes. Shouldn’t hard work pay off? Why be penalized by paying a higher percentage of your income when you worked hard to make that income? Simpler solutions are required.

Income Inequality is a major problem that has been going on in America for decades. Many people feel that it barely exists today, but those people are very uneducated and don’t really care about the huge problem in front of them the many people that feel that way are highly uneducated, and seem to not really care about which has been gradually increasing instead of decreasing. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done, only of course if the poor class of people decide to actually educate themselves and get a higher education. One says poor class, simply because that’s how they’re classified. There are five types of levels that Americans are classified as, and they are: Upper Class, Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Working Class, Poor. The highest percentage of Americans fall in the Poor department, and it has been that way for decades, and will continue to be that way for decades to come.

Today in America, income and wealth inequality has continued to grow at an unsettling pace. The rich continue to get richer, while the number of people categorized as lower class grows exponentially. As Joseph Stiglitz has explained, many theories that are seen as strongly Republican, such as the trickle-down effect, has caused the rich to take money from the poor, and as a result the lower class grows and the middle class disintegrates. The top 1 percent of America’s households currently holds 30 percent of America’s economy, which is much more than other first-world countries and helps to emphasize the extremity of inequality currently in America today. This increased inequality has in turn caused America to become a much more divided society; those born in poverty typically stay in poverty, with little to no chance of self-improvement due to a lack of education provided in their areas. In contrast, those that are born wealthy typically go to better schools, have better health care, and are all but spoon fed information on how to remain wealthy. These two sides of society almost never cross, and this causes the country to be more divided than ever. In order to limit this inequality, drastic changes must be made, such as large corporations paying their fair share of taxes and giving back to the lower class, and minimum wage should be raised. If everyone in America works together, we can raise social mobility and re-unite what has become an increasingly divided country.

The Revenue Act of 1862 is the first instance of income tax in America. It imposed a progressive income tax rate on Union citizens in order to raise money for the war effort against the Confederacy. http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/personal-income-taxes/income-tax.htmThe income tax was abolished in 1872, declared unconstitutional in 1895, and then passed as an amendment in 1913.http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1986/winter/civil-war-tax-records.html Cite everything above! The 16th amendment states “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” (YOU NEED

Clearly regressive and proportional taxes present a growing problem in regard to rising poverty rates in the United States.