According to Progs, we need more Socialism to narrow income inequality and correct other societal ills; yet, if America is such a hideous place, why does it need a wall to keep people out when Socialist countries have had to build walls with electrified fences and armed guards to keep their citizens from leaving? Hmmmm.
- Sophie
By Conn Carroll
President Obama has made it clear that he has
one political goal this December: raise taxes on the rich. Last
December, in Osawatomie, Kan., Obama explained why.
"In the last few decades, the average
income of the top 1 percent has gone up by more than 250 percent to $1.2
million per year," Obama said. "Now, this kind of inequality -- a level
that we haven't seen since the Great Depression -- hurts us all."
But do higher taxes on the rich reduce income
inequality? Not according to a quick comparison of state inequality data
and their corresponding tax codes.
Just take a look at the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities' recently released report "Pulling Apart: A
State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends." The CBPP used Census Bureau
data to determine which states had the largest gap between the bottom
fifth of income earners and the top 5 percent of earners.
According to CBPP, the states with highest
levels of income inequality are: 1) Arizona, 2) New Mexico, 3)
California, 4) Georgia and 5) New York. The report identifies a "more
progressive" tax system as one way states can battle inequality, but it
never tells us which states have the most progressive tax codes.
As a matter of fact, California and New York
have two of the most progressive tax systems in the country, according
to a separate report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Even before California raised its income tax
rates on the rich this past November, the top 1 percent of Californians
already paid 9.8 percent of their income in state taxes (including
sales, property and income taxes). Only New Jersey and Vermont had
higher effective rates on the rich. And New York was just behind
California at 9.4 percent.
So if taxing the rich doesn't prevent income
inequality, what does? Many on the Left, including the New Republic's
Timothy Noah, believe that stronger unions can help reduce income
inequality, but state-by-state comparisons don't help that case either.
New York, California and New Mexico are all
forced-unionization states, meaning if you take a job with a unionized
firm, you must join the union. Meanwhile the three states with the least
income inequality, 1) Iowa, 2) Utah and 3) Wyoming, are all
right-to-work states, meaning where workers have the right to choose
whether or not they want to join a union.
So if low taxes and weak unions aren't causing
income inequality, what is? The CBPP identifies "more intense
competition from foreign firms, a shift in the mix of jobs from
manufacturing to services, and advances in technology that have changed
jobs" as causes. And those are all huge factors.
But let's take a look at that list of
high-income-inequality states again. What do California, Arizona and New
Mexico all have in common? I'll give you a hint: Texas comes in seventh
on the high-income-inequality state list.
That's right: The three states with the
highest income inequality also all share a border with Mexico. But what
about New York? Or Georgia? Or Illinois (which is the sixth-most-unequal
state)? They are all hundreds of miles away from Mexico.
Well, it turns out that all of those states
have huge illegal immigrant populations too. According to the Pew
Hispanic Center, every one of the top five unequal states also is among
the top 10 states with high illegal immigrant populations.
Take Georgia, where, according to the
Department of Homeland Security, the illegal immigrant population
doubled between 2000 and 2011. As a result, Georgia now has the
eighth-highest per capita illegal immigrant population in the country.
None of this means that mass deportation is
the solution to our income inequality problems. That would be an
inhumane, expensive and politically suicidal policy option.
But far too often, when income inequality is discussed, illegal immigration is never mentioned. That needs to change.
Related:
Obama's America: You Can Check-Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave???
The Great California Exodus
California at Twilight
Mr Obama, Build Up That Wall!
Soft Apartheid: The Income Inequality Factor Liberals Can't Talk About
Thunderdome In California?
Pension Envy?
What the Heck, Let's Tax the Rich!
Are Exit Taxes and Corrals Coming Soon to "My Progressive Little Ponyland"?
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