This amazing blog post by a University of Chicago law professor complains how unfair it is to characterize people like him as rich and how his family will be badly hurt by letting the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning over $250,000. Michael O’Hare and Brad De Long deduce that the complaining professor earns around $450,000 and deliver much needed rebukes.
[Update: The law professor Todd Henderson has since deleted his post and given up blogging as a result of the response to his post, and also because he says his wife strongly disagreed with him and did not consent to him posting in the first place.]
As the effort to make the rich even richer gets under full swing this fall, we are going to hear a lot of whining like this as the December 31st expiry deadline draws near. A lot of smoke is going to be blown about what constitutes being rich and so it is good to bear in mind the facts of income distribution in the US.
20% of households earn less than $19,178
20% of households earn between $19,178 and $36,000
20% of households earn between $36,000 and $57,568
20% of households earn between $57,568 and $91,705
20% of households earn over $91,705
The median household income is around $50,000. (‘Median’ means that half earn below and half above that figure). If we break down even further the people in the very top brackets:
10% of households earn between $100,349 and $138.254
5% of households earn between $138,254 and $329,070
1% of households earn between $329,070 and $482,129
0.5% of households earn between $482,129 and $1,401,635
0.1% of households earn between $1,401,635 and $6,473,710
0.01% of households earn over $6,473,710
So the Chicago law professor’s family earns about nine times the median income, is in the top 1% or so of income earners in the country, and yet whines about how tough it is for him to get by. This curious combination of greed and entitlement of the rich seems to be getting worse. In a previous post, I showed how the income share of the top 10% has increased greatly since 1979, a period that is referred to as ‘The Great Divergence’. Kevin Drum provides a chart that breaks it down even more.
It is clear that the rich have been making out like bandits and they still want more. Anyone still doubt that we have an oligarchy? How bad must it get before people like the anti-tax zealots among the tea partiers realize that they are being played for suckers by the oligarchy?
I’m getting a “page not found” error when clicking on the link to the original blog post by the professor. Did it “go away” or was the link incorrect to begin with?
Matt,
Thanks for alerting me to this. I investigated and found an interesting development that I have inserted as an update.
If you take the politics out of the question and really study the tax laws and cuts you will realize the Bush tax cuts need to stay in place. The average John Q person DOES NOT pay taxes. The majority of income tax is paid the those who are the most successful people in the USA. The less they pay in taxes the more income they have to spend on business, pleasure items, real estate, etc. Which all of these have a large impact on the economy. Maids work in hotels/motels. Workers build yachts. Laborers work in yards….etc, etc, etc. It is a trickle down effect. The only solution would be to have a FLAT FAIR NATIONAL TAX. Everyone would pay this at the cash register. It is so simple even a cave man can do it.
Roger,
You are repeating a widely believed myth.
What is true is that 53% of the population pays federal income taxes. And of course, everyone pays sales taxes.
But a much larger number, almost everyone, pays payroll taxes and state and local taxes. Even restricting it to federal taxes, only 10% have no federal tax liability.
Hello Mano,
Please continuing to write with you heart. After all, its academics like you who keep this country going. Well done and keep up good work.
James.