If the rich are so powerful, if they supposedly manipulate public policy for their benefit, why are their taxes so high?
Several years ago at a party, I met a woman who loudly railed against “the rich” whom she insisted “paid no taxes.”
I asked, “What percentage of federal income taxes do you think is paid by the top 1%, those earning about $350,000 or more?”
She said, “Probably barely nothing. Maybe 1% or 2%.” The answer at the time is that the top 1%, while earning about 20% of the nation’s income, paid 40% of the federal income taxes.
Her ignorance is common, particularly among Democrats, who chant that “the rich must pay their fair share” or “the rich don’t pay their fair share.”
In 2008, Investor’s Business Daily commissioned a poll asking what people thought the top 1% paid as a…
