Monday, August 10, 2009

Tax Like It's 1919 Again

The government is all at sixes and sevens trying to figure out what to do with CEOs who pay themselves and their co-workers exorbitant bonuses and salaries for sitting around screwing up the economy. It ain't that hard, just bring back the 1919 tax rates.
  • Bottom tax rate, with deductions, is 4%.
  • That bottom tax was on the first $4,000 which inflation adjusts to $50,000.
  • At $250,000 ($20,000 in 1919) the tax rate is 17%.
  • At one million dollars ($80,000 in 1919) the tax rate is 47%.
  • The top tax rate is imposed on people taking in over $12.5 million (one million 1919 dollars). It is 73%.
There, done. And we'll balance the budget, too. This tax rate won't hurt the economy, in 1919 this exact tax rate ushered in the Roaring Twenties. True, Dick Cheney and George Bush will have conniption fits, that's just an added bonus.

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