re: I find it interesting that a pro athlete can get paid $25million a year....

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i don't know what you're laughing at. it's a fact.

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No it isn't.

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i don't know what you're laughing at.

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Unsurprising.

No one pays the marginal rate.

Marginal rates don't mean isht. Go back and look at the allowed deductions at those "higher" rates. You used to be able to deduct everything from food to clothes.

Effective rates are all that count.




What has changed is the number of people reaching the top marginal rate. It's grown significantly.

Even if you want to use effective rate, it has still dropped. In 1979 the overall tax rate was above 22 percent. In 2009 it is closer to 18 percent. Every quintile paid a lower effective tax rate in 2006 than in 1979. Since 1979, total tax rates have fallen across the spectrum, including for the top 10, 5 and 1% of taxpayers.

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Ok. Now list all the deductions people could take. NOBODY paid those percentages. Hell, they paid more when Reagan lowered taxes but eliminated numerous deductions. Hell before you could write off food, clothing, home, interest of any kind and all kinds of other shite. Reagan pulled a bait and switch on us.

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Being completely serious, I've never heard this take before. I had assumed his tax policies were a reason for Conservative idolatry.

I'd also be curious if you had a link to doctor's salaries coming under fire? Seems the last thing you would want to take issue with.

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Well it's still a drop. to hear some people tell it they are being taxed more and more than ever before.

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In many cases they are.

Your chart shows % of tax per taxable income. But the definition of "taxable income" has changed drastically over the years. Hell, in 1986 it changed COMPLETELY. Same with AGI. That distorts your chart (but I'm sure you already knew that).

And you also need to look at number of people subjected. You chart uses quintiles which distorts the pictures as tax brackets split the quinitles. Quntiles are perhaps the silliest way of looking at taxes, because they do not align with rate in any way.

For example in 1970, it took over $1,000,000 (in 2012 $'s) to reach the top tax bracket. In 2014 you reach the top tax bracket at a mere $391k.

There are indeed a lot of people paying a lot more taxes than they used to.

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That doesn't include additional Obamacare taxes, and a 1.5% effective rate increase in FICA. Overall, effective rates exceed 1979.

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The Federal treatment, and deductibility, of state and sales taxes adds to the distortion as well. As does the AMT because of its wonky definition of "income"... but I'm trying to keep it simple...

How am I an idiot? I never said the ball player getting $25 million a year wasn't worth it. He will get paid what the organization thinks he is worth and will hopefully get their return on investment. If that "employee" sells tickets it will be seen as a good investment. So why can one organization pay an employee that much with no negative comments from liberals? If another organization pays it's CEO $10 million a year and that person makes decisions that lead to profits and strong earnings, why are they chastised for paying one person so much?

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Now, MLB, NBA and NFL tickets are not only beyond the reach of the poor, they are beyond the reach of the middle class

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When was the last time the middle class could not watch a game at virtually no cost? The price I pay to go to a game is offset by all the games I watch for free.

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