Typically the largest wealth distribution program that occurs in Cancun, Mexico, is college students spending their parents’ money. That could change at the upcoming United Nations climate summit if developing countries clamoring for money to cope with global warming get their wish. With each passing year, it’s clear that international climate change talks are less about climate and more about wealth redistribution. The latest case in point comes from United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) official Ottmar Edenhofer. In a recent interview with Germany’s NZZ Online, Edenhofer lays …
In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Vice President Joe Biden said the following: “the top 1 percent of earners get 22 percent of all income made in the U.S. Taxes have been lowered for the wealthy considerably over the years. It’s about time we get a little tax equity here.” Putting aside the fact that the Vice President thinks top-earners “get” their income instead of earning it through hard work, innovation and business acumen, he is right that the top one percent of taxpayers earn 22 percent of all …
The IRS released data today on the distribution of income taxes. It shows that the highest-earning taxpayers shoulder a considerable burden of the federal income tax. According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid over 40 percent of all federal income taxes in 2007. That is a higher share than the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers combined! They paid just over 39 percent. The top 1 percent, those earning over $410,000, consists of 1.4 million taxpayers, while the bottom 95 percent contains 134 million. In 2000, before …
Everyone remembers President Obama’s now-infamous comment as a candidate that he thinks everyone is better when we “spread the wealth around.” Of course, we spread plenty of wealth around through the tax code before Obama became President. In 2006, the latest year of available data, the top 20 percent of earners paid over 86 percent of all income taxes. While the bottom 50 percent of earners paid almost no taxes whatsoever. To get a complete picture of government redistribution, however, we need to know who receives the spending in addition …
We’ve heard a lot lately about “redistribution of wealth.” What would the American Founders think? Property rights provide the foundation of prosperity. As Americans, we’re accustomed to a revolutionary guarantee that we may labor, earn wages and acquire property — and rest assured that what we earn and acquire will be secure. It’s a simple promise that survives despite the income tax system: Americans get to keep what we earn. The right to enjoy the rewards of your labor is a powerful incentive to work hard and pursue opportunity — …
