How do we Coddle the Super Wealthy?

How do we 1. Huge Tax Breaks CODDLE the super-wealthy? Tax rates for our nation's wealthiest have plummeted since the 1940s. Despite historically low tax rates in the late 1990s, President Bush created more tax giveaways that flowed directly into the pockets of the wealthiest Americans $1.8 trillion The rules that help shape our economy have been influenced by the super-wealthy over the past 30 years, and tilted in their favor. Here's how. revenue lost an a result of the Bush tax cuts. 40% 2. Preferential Tax Treatment of this went into the bank accounts of Americans making over $500,000 annually. It pays to make money from money. A paycheck-that is, income from work-is taxed at a higher rate than income from interest on captial gains and investments, the main source of income for most millionaires and bilionaires. In addition, we shower wealthy folks with exemptions, credits, and deductions that amount to $1.1 trilion in giveaways each year. 3. Tax Dodging and Loopholes teet Wealthy corporations have become incredbly skilled at avoiding taxes. Shifting operations overseas, creating sham headquarters in tax haven countries, and even renouncing American status are al common ways of "gaming" the system. 2010 EFFECTIVE TAX RATES AA PERGENT oF INCOME Warren Buffet 17.4% EKON Mobil CORPORATE TAXES AS A PORION OF ALL. FEDERAL REVENUE His SecretaryY 36% 30% 6.6% $15 billion $5.1 billion "Our leaders have asked for 'shared sacrifice. But when they did the asking, they spared me." paido the UA -Warren Butfett (On Timee op-ed) 1950 2009 4. No Limits On Influencing Government 5. We Buy the "Job Creator" Farce Wealthy individuals and corporations spend bilions on lobbyists to tit the rules that govern our economy. Why? Because they stand to get richer. Economists agree: tax cuts for the wealthy are not a good way to stimulate the economy. To the contrary, evidence shows that higher income households are more likely to bank their taX cut than spend it. LOBBYING EXPENSES U.S. LOBBYING DIRECTORY 4444444 1981 2008 1983 531 pages 2,154 pages Each dollar of the Bush income 1999 2009 tax cuts resulted in just 32 cents of economic activity. $3.87 billion Corporate lobbying uxparas in 2000 wu greater than all oonsumer, emrtrormental, worker, and other non-corporate groupa oembined. $200 million $1.44 billion 7. Keep It In the Family 6. We Buy the "CEO Meritocracy"Myth Our nation's most progressive tax-the estate tax-was designed to prevent the dynastic accumulation of wealth. But over the past decade, the estate tax has been phased out, repealed, and dramatically weakened. Since the tax only applies to our nation's wealthiest eite, these changes have benefited only an exclusive club of milionaires and bilionaires. By overlooking exorbitant CEO saiaries, we wrongycept n "meritooracy" myth; that is, the inaccurate notion that in order to attract the best ånd brightest we must pay CEOS skyrocketing salaries. AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY HIGHER EXEMPTION THRESHOLD O. the amout of money talered to hairs before the tie tan kicka in 20117 1981 $175,000 $5,000,000 $11,400,000 $54,000 LOWER TAX RATE 1981 2011 CEO at S&P 500 Company U.S. Navy SEAL 70% .. O 35% AVERAGE CEO TO AVERAGE WORKER PAY RATIO 1980 1988 2010 32% Thirty-two percent of the wealthiest Americans on the Forbes 400 list in 2009 191:1 343:1 42:1 O inherited all or a portion of their wealth. UNITED FAIR ÉCONOMY. Learn more and view sources at www.faireconomy.org/coddle.