Posted on 09/09/2011 9:06:56 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
The way some people talk, you'd think that a flat tax system -- in which everyone pays at the same rate regardless of income -- would make citizens feel better than more progressive taxation, where wealthier people are taxed at higher rates. Indeed, the U.S. has been diminishing progressivity of its tax structure for decades.
But a new study comparing 54 nations found that flattening the tax risks flattening social wellbeing as well. "The more progressive the tax policy is, the happier the citizens are," says University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi, summarizing the findings, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Oishi conducted the study with Ulrich Schimmack of the University of Toronto at Mississauga and Ed Diener, also at University of Illinois and the Gallup Organization.
The researchers analyzed the relationship between tax progressivity and personal well-being in 54 nations surveyed by the Gallup Organization in 2007—a total of 59,634 respondents. Well-being was expressed in people's assessments of their overall life quality, from "worst" to "best possible life," on a scale of 1 to 10; and in whether they enjoyed positive daily experiences (such as smiling, being treated with respect, and eating good food) or suffered negative ones, including sadness, worry, and shame. Finally, the analysis looked at the participants' satisfaction with their nation's public goods, from schools to clean air.
The degree of progressivity was measured by the difference between the highest and lowest tax rates, corrected for such confounding factors as family size, social security taxes paid, and tax benefits received by individuals.
The results: On average, residents of the nations with the most progressive taxation evaluated their own lives as closer to "the best possible." They also reported having more satisfying experiences and fewer discomfiting ones than respondents living in nations with less progressive taxes. That happiness, Oishi says, was "explained by a greater degree of satisfaction with the public goods, such as housing, education, and public transportation."
Higher government spending per se did not yield greater happiness, in spite of the well-being that was associated with satisfaction with state-funded services. In fact, there was a slight negative correlation between government spending and average happiness.
"That data is kind of weird," Oishi says. He guesses that the misalignment might indicate national differences in the efficiency with which those services are delivered or in people's relative ability to access them. For example, the U.S. spends more on education and health care than other developed countries, "but its international standing in those areas is not so great." Such puzzling findings may be illuminated in further research.
The study, like others Oishi has done looking at connections between economics and personal life, has important social implications. "If the goal of societies is to make citizens happy, tax policy matters," he says. "Certain policies, like tax progressivity, seem to be more conducive to the happiness of the people."
Provided by Association for Psychological Science
It’s even better.
The people not paying Taxes get a Tax Refund. They call it the Earned Income Tax Credit. Credit = Refund = The rest of us are suckers.
Makes all sorts of sense, doesn’t it? LOL
LOL...wise move!!
These psychologists reached the outcome they desired.
Progressive taxation stimulates political exploitation and class warfare, not aspiration on the part of the "have nots" to be as successful as the "haves".
I prefer knowing that every dollar of income is taxed at the same rate for every citizen, not the "progressive" (Socialistic) system we have today where the lower 50% of earners pay NO INCOME TAX at all?
What, I ask, is their stake in America if the do not contribute but only take from others who earn?
The researchers analyzed the relationship between tax progressivity and personal well-being in 54 nations surveyed by the Gallup Organization in 2007—a total of 59,634 respondents. Well-being was expressed in people’s assessments of their overall life quality, from “worst” to “best possible life,” on a scale of 1 to 10; and in whether they enjoyed positive daily experiences (such as smiling, being treated with respect, and eating good food) or suffered negative ones, including sadness, worry, and shame. Finally, the analysis looked at the participants’ satisfaction with their nation’s public goods, from schools to clean air.
Pay attention to how they “corrected” for things like social security taxes goverment benefit ect...
This is a leftist study if ever their was one. What else would you expect from psychologicalscience.org?
I'm not sure, but I think the authors are lying here, right in the first paragraph. ...It's easy to check, I guess. Let's see. The top 10% of income earners in 2008 (people making $114,000 and higher, hardly "millionaires") paid 70% of all federal income taxes collected that year. So, what was the percentage a couple of "decades" ago?
If 25% of income earners are paying 90% of the income taxes, then 75% of the people will be "happy" with the tax system. If 5% are paying 90% of the freight for everybody else (more "progressive"), then 95% of the people will be happy. See how it works? I bet it took an expensive "study" to figure this out.
And I would bet anything the expensive "study" was funded by government (ie., taxpayers).
University slugs are always happier with Big Government getting more of the producing-class’s money because it pays their fat salaries for churning out Leftist studies such as this one. The relationship of Big Education and Big Government is incestuous.
BS!
Association for Psychological Science. Are these the same folks who are trying to normalize pedophilia?
Oishi, if progressive taxes make people happier, wouldn't NO TAXES make them even happier?
I stopped reading right there. The statement is a bald face lie. The US has SIGNIFICANTLY increased the progressivity of its tax structure in the last decades. That's why half the population pays no income tax. Any author too dumb to see this isn't worth reading.
Amen
They're in the government, the media, the education system, and yes, in the religious institutions too.
Western civilization is in the process of eating itself.
I suspect that some of the result has to do with the fact that many of the countries that have very progressive tax systems (the article does not list the countries) are also less diverse. Diversity, and not just in income, tends to lower happiness.
The social system of Sweden, Norway, etc. works because it is (mostly) Swedes and Norwegians that populate those countries. If you want a Swedish style welfare state then our country will have to look more like Sweden. Of course, a less diverse United States might well be happier even in the absence of a progressive tax system.
Open borders increase the supply of labor and thus reduce its rewards. The benefits of growth then tend to accumulate to capital (the wealthy) and not to labor. With a more restricted supply of labor, more of the benefits of growth would accumulate to labor.
Lest you think that I am some kind of commie for referencing “labor,” just remember that if you trade your efforts for a wage or salary you are “labor.” You may use your brain instead of your back, but is still “labor.” Open borders are not just about lettuce pickers; computer programmers, engineers, and business analysts are also part of the 1.5 million that arrive legally (on top of the half million illegal arrivals) each year.
Perhaps progressives should focus on our immigration system instead of our tax system.
Why thank you;I rather hope to receive His mercy.
But anyone crying about sitting around playing video games all day,every day, because they haven't a job needs to look in the mirror!
If you are able to play videos games then that tells me you have fair intelligence,eye-hand co-ordination,some computer skills,etc.Those are starting points for some jobs.I have taken dirty, and or difficult jobs for low pay because that was much better than no job.There were bills to be paid and people at home depending on me,so I have even cleaned restrooms and grease traps (though it was sometimes nauseating) and worked from from high ladders with high risks.Now I do something else but I have little time for those who won't work at what IS available.If one holds out for a "living wage" when the only job available pays minimum wage then whose fault if one has nothing?A late friend of mine did accounting and tax preparation though he was so crippled he could get around using a walker with difficulty.That is why it irks me to see much healthier people who could do some sort of work instead collecting government money for idleness.One of my former brothers-in-law would only work for "union scale" and worked less than half the time,another had an excellent union job and spent his money getting drunk despite several company paid rehab sessions. Once you have proven that you will show up on time every day and do a job ,then you have a much better chance of getting a better job .
If this is true, it is only true because the government of these countries keeps pushing the myth that rich people should pay more taxes than other people. The truth is under a flat tax the rich do pay more. 10% of 20,000 a year is a lot less than 10% of 2,000,000 a year. Try to convince some of the retarded(no offense to actual retarded people) people who live off of the dole that though.
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