More On “Soak the Rich”

So, last night I presented data that demonstrated you would have to lift every single dime in income from those making $200,000 or more to cover the deficit.  Not pay the bill for the year, just pay the deficit.

What if we just go after those making $500,000 or more a year?  The really rich?

Start with a $1.5 trillion deficit.  Back out the taxes paid by those making over $500k.  You now have $1.85 trillion to cover.

How much do the folks who bring in $500,000 or more make as a group?  They make $1,270,000,000.  That’s it.

If you call being rich as making more than $500,000 a year rich, then you have to take all of it.  Everything they make.  ALL.  And you still are short $600,000,000,000.

You can not tax your way out of this.

3 responses to “More On “Soak the Rich”

  1. I’ve been looking at this using the 2008 tax statistics you can get off the web. (I was puzzled I couldn’t get 2009 by now)

    I agree with you mostly, but the issue might be a little reduced assuming the economy continues a mild recovery and some expenditures for support for the unemployed fall and the deficit is also smaller.

    I’ve found it harder than I expected to get simple statistics on actual spending by department.

    • (I was puzzled I couldn’t get 2009 by now)

      Me too.

      but the issue might be a little reduced assuming the economy continues a mild recovery and some expenditures for support for the unemployed fall and the deficit is also smaller.

      Certainly the details will adjust as time goes by. However, the larger point is to illustrate. We can’t raise taxes high enough to earn our way out of this.

  2. Walter Williams at Investors.com wrote a great article on this point as well. He goes into the additional consequences of “confiscation” and how it actually hurts revenues, such as with the tobacco tax.

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