1) New IRS data shows that the richest 1 percent garnered their highest share of the national income -- 22 percent -- in decades, and possibly since 1929. So for every dollar paid out in wages in 2006, more than one-fifth went to the top one percent. 2) "Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years." It's a good article. Meanwhile, I was just on MSNBC listening to folks quote McCain about the importance of not raising taxes. There are two ways to think about that comment. The first is as a fiscal absolute: We cannot raise taxes on anyone, anywhere, at any time, for any reason at all. It's right there in the Old Testament, next to the part on pork. The passage is Norquist 6:12. The other way of thinking about taxes is in terms of absolute revenue. The rich have most of the income. They also pay most of the taxes. It's entirely possible, as we see from the Obama tax plan and the various analyses that have been done on it, to raise revenues while cutting taxes for most Americans. Currently, the rich are facing the lowest tax rates they've seen in 18 years -- which include the boom years of the 90s. They are also making more, relative to the rest of the country, then they have since the Great Depression. You can raise taxes on the rich while cutting them on the poor and middle class, and so far as most people experience taxation, you'll have just cut taxes. But you'll also be bringing in more revenue. Presumably, the media will call this a tax increase, and Repubicans will certainly call it a tax increase, even though, for most people, it will be a tax cut.
