Nice chart from Krugman: Taxes on the very rich are at historic lows

Progressive economics columnist of the New York Times Paul Krugman on July 12, 2012 had a revealing chart. It shows that taxes on the very rich are at a historic low.

We know that taxes on the very rich are at a historic low right now, which will go even lower if Mitt Romney wins. But how low, exactly?

All these estimates show that taxes on the rich are the lowest they have been in half a century. But what about before 1960? Well, we know that the top marginal tax rate was even higher in the 40s and 50s than in the 60s; and it was very high by modern standards through much of the 30s too.

So I think it’s safe to say that taxes on the rich are currently lower than they have been for not 50 but 80 years. And if Mitt Romney gets his way, we’ll bring those taxes down to levels not seen since Calvin Coolidge.



Thanks, again, Mr. Krugman.

New York Times reference: The Long Run History of Taxes on the Rich

One percent couple demos their house while 100s of 1000s jobless or underemployed

Oh, the troubles of the one percent.
The garage was in the wrong place. So they demolish a new home to soon rebuild. They will waste a few million dollars in the process. "The new Southampton, N.Y., home of Eric and Margaret Friedberg was almost half completed when they decided to tear it down and start over because the garage was in the wrong spot . . . both [spouses are] former federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York's Eastern District." --For those not in the know, the Hamptons are where much of the New York uber-rich have their conspicuous consumption vacation mansions. Don't get misled by the demographics in wikipedia articles on "The Hamptons," Southampton or East Hampton. Yes, overall, the permanent populations in these towns are middle class. But property prices commonly run in the eight digits, house properties are the sorts of places advertised in the back of "The New York Times Magazine" or "The New Yorker."
From Yahoo News from ABC News' "Good Morning America", July 2, 2012: By Sydney Lupkin, "New Home Demolished Because Garage in Wrong Spot."
Meanwhile there are stagnant job numbers in the June 2012 U.S. jobs report, the Economic Populist site tells us.
Read this July 6, 2012 report, "June Jobs Report Shows Economy Still in the Dumps," in AlterNet.
Only in America are people not putting it together in a mass movement to connect the dots.