'Why America needs to go back to taxing the wealthy'

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

By Dave Johnson
Special to the Mercury News

While America has always been a place where a person could get rich, it used to be that you got rich a bit more slowly, and everyone benefited in the process. This is because we used to have very high tax rates at the top.

A person could do very well, but income that came in above a certain level was highly taxed and used to pay for the teachers, police, courts and roads that enabled businesses to thrive. Just how high were taxes? During America's "golden years" of 1951-1963, tax rates were over 90 percent on income over $400,000. Then through the 1960s and 70s, they were 70 percent on income above $200,000.

This had many beneficial results — especially for the people who paid higher taxes. Back then, government could afford to invest in programs that improved everyone's standard of living, including health, knowledge and technology, all without borrowing. History recalls these as the years we created and grew our prosperous middle class, built our public universities, conducted our economy-changing scientific research and developed a culture of thriving entrepreneurial businesses.

Back when it took time to make a fortune, business people had to rely on the health of the greater community to nurture their own enterprises. They had to think and act long-term. They had to carefully build solid businesses that satisfied their customers. They had to hold on to workers because their experience was valuable.

... Dave Johnson is a fellow at the Commonweal Institute of San Francisco. He wrote this article for the Mercury News.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_13816849

[babylonsister]

1. Most Americans agree:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7038497&mesg_id=7038497

AP POLL: How to pay for health overhaul? Tax rich

[BrklynLiberal]

2. So..since the higher taxes only made AMerica a better place, so those repukes who are

sreaming about cutting taxes for the rich must hate America. It is so obvious.

I wonder what horror befell Grover Norquist in his childhood to make him such a bitter, hateful, selfish person.

[Cleita]

3. I remember those days and I worked for people in those tax brackets.

Believe me they still were able to afford their mansions, servants, limos and Country Club memberships. I say we get it done. Also, there were rich people who would be considered upper middle class in those days, who are rapidly disappearing and becoming poor who also provided taxes in lower tiers. Since 10% of the population today owns 90% of the wealth, according to Senator Bernie Sanders, it's time to do some real trickling down of money through the tax structure.

[Canuckistanian]

4. I'll volunteer for guillotine duty

If it comes to that.

[greennina]

5. The French did that part right!

Chop-off the heads of all of those racist and stuck-up rich.

[greennina]

The French did that part right!

Chop-off the heads of all of those racist and stuck-up rich.

[greennina]

6. The French did that part right!

Chop-off the heads of all of those racist and stuck-up rich.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. Another illiterate who fails to understand the difference between wealth and income

[snot]

8. Help me out, I'm not quite getting this --

I agree that most were better off when the wealthy were highly taxed.

I do not see how being highly taxed incentivized the wealthy to "think and act long-term." I certainly didn't perceive that happening.

What I DID see happening was that they didn't own the media and the gummint yet. What they WERE incentivized to do was to get control of the media and the gummint, and get themselves de-taxed and de-regulated.