Appalling Greed: Richest 400 Average $270.5 Million Incomes, Pay Almost Nothing in Taxes

In 2008, the IRS revealed last week, 400 Americans reported at least $110 million in income on their federal tax returns. These 400, in a year that ended with millions of Americans out of work and home, averaged $270.5 million each, the second-highest U.S. top 400 average income on record.

The IRS only started reporting top 400 income calculations in 2003, and the agency's official “top 400” totals just go back to 1992. But older IRS data reports do make top 400 estimates from some earlier years possible. And these earlier figures leave the latest IRS numbers in even starker relief.

In 1955, for instance, America's top 400 averaged — in 2008 dollars — $13.3 million. In other words, the top 400 in 2008 reported incomes that, after taking inflation into account, amounted to more than 20 times the incomes of America’s top 400 a half-century ago.

More:http://www.alternet.org/economy/150956/appalling_greed:_richest_400_average_$270.5_million_incomes,_pay_almost_nothing_in_taxes/

But we need a political Party that will address this disparity and make it an issue in every election until these leeches pay their fair share of taxes.

Until this is addressed, life for all of us isn't going to improve.

The result, is that wealth concentrates at the top leaving little-to-nothing for everyone else.

...is what I meant

Just as poverty happens independently of 'morals,' in spite of what capitalists would have us believe

with their money, they keep the economy robust and such.



"The main reason: Today’s rich are getting more and more of their income from capital gains — the profits from buying and selling stocks, bonds, and other assets — and these capital gains now face a substantially lower tax rate than they did two decades ago."

Gee, I wonder how they got to keep this hideous advantage in place for so long.

and there are only the rich and the poor, we will have another revolution.

That is something that the rich should keep in mind.

The Gods of Greed.

Taxing the Gods might anger them and result in earthquakes and dismissal of their Washington protectors.

:sarcasm:

I can't blame people for structuring their finances to take best advantage of the law.

This problem won't be fixed as long as WE keep electing the same people to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

It would prove helpful in conversation.