Condemned to plutocracy? The relentless rise of US inequality
Summary
The article explains that income inequality in the United States has been a persistent problem across several presidencies. While President Obama made efforts to reduce inequality, tax policies under President Trump increased the income share of the richest households, and the overall distribution of wealth remains uneven.Key Facts
- By 2016, taxes and government money helped reduce income for the richest 1% by over 20%, raising income for the poorest 20% to the highest level since 1979.
- Elon Musk recently became the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX shares were sold publicly.
- President Trump's 2017 tax law gave big tax cuts to wealthy Americans and increased the income share of the richest 1% to 13.2% by the end of his first term.
- The 2020 CARES Act helped poor households during the Covid pandemic, temporarily raising their income share to 8.2%.
- By 2022, the income share for the poorest fifth dropped to 7.4% under President Biden.
- Trump’s later tax changes reduced the income of the poorest 10% by an average of $1,200 yearly and increased the richest 10% by $13,600 on average.
- The US has a long history of low taxes on the wealthy and little political will to reduce income inequality.
- Research shows the richest 400 Americans pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than the average worker, due to legal tax avoidance strategies.
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