The Guess What's the Biggest Driver of U.S. Government Revenue?

Townhall.com ^ | September 22, 2011 | Political Calculations

[the invisib1e hand]

what’s the minimum income to be considered in the “top 25%”?

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

I wish more people knew about Hauser’s Law. Thanks for the post.

[FromTheSidelines]

From the source I provided, an AGI of $67,000 or more puts you into the top 25%. Note that this is AGI - Adjusted Gross Income. Typical deductions and the like would put it around $96,000 a year or more, per taxpayer, to be in the top 25%. If your gross compensation - not including stock options and the like - is $8,000 a month or more - you're in the top 25%.

[FromTheSidelines]

You’re welcome... It really shows the real liquidity - the ability to move - of money. Additionally, it also proves the only way for the Government to get more revenue - absolute dollars - over any 5+ year timeframe is to grow the economy.

Rather that trying to get a bigger slice, just grow the whole pie.

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

And that any government spending beyond that amount must result in a deficit.

[Triple]

Do you know what median is? It is NOT the average income.

The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one. If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values.

As the population skews to more above average income earners the Median goes higher.

[FromTheSidelines]

And you’d think the folks in DC would understand that...;)

[the invisib1e hand]

Median escaped me -- completely didn't notice that. Your clarification is helpful in pointing that out; however, I find it removes me further from ascertaining the real meaning of the oft repeated statistical "fact" that the "rich" pay most of the taxes.

How much does one need to earn to be "rich" for the purposes of this claim?

[familyop]

"What's the Biggest Driver of U.S. Government Revenue?...For our money, it's Median" Government Employee "Household Income."

Big, fat revenues in. Little revenues out. They're the new, appraised "taxpayers," and they control the political parties. That's why we're headed for collapse and default. Big manufacturing provides sustainable revenues, and the real taxpayers are in east Asia. They make loans to our nation in the form of bond investments, to hike up our US dollar currency. But the debt keeps the government teacher, police, social worker and regulatory worker (planners, building officials, all) salaries and benefits paid for now.

What an economy! ;-)

[Triple]

I think it along the lines of the top 5% of wage earners pay 80% of the taxes.

I have seen the actual metric recently...checking.

[Triple]

Tax Year 2008

Percentiles Ranked by AGI

AGI Threshold on Percentiles

Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Top 1%....$380,354 salary cutoff (AGI)...38.02 percent of taxes paid

Top 5%...$159,619 salary cutoff...58.72 percent of taxes paid

Top 10%...$113,799...69.94

Top 25%...$67,280...86.34

Top 50%...$33,048...97.30

Bottom 50%...<$33,048...2.7

Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service

In 2008 the top 5% by AGI paid 58% of the taxes...

[COBOL2Java]

"The Biggest Driver of U.S. Government Revenue"

Alex Trebek: "Margaret?"
Margaret: "What is Michelle Obama's travel agent!"

[the invisib1e hand]

I have that backwards: Top 10% and below would pay (according to this set) 51.28% of Fed Pers Inc Tax. Hardly gives the picture of Atlas carrying the world on his shoulder, popular claims to the contrary notwithstanding.

[Triple]

“Top 10% and below” - what is that?

The lower 90% of wage earners (AGI) pay about 30% of the taxes, while the upper 10% of wage earners pay 69.9% of the taxes.