Posted on 01/15/2019 6:03:03 PM PST by TigerClaws
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her Republican critics have both called her proposal to dramatically increase America's highest tax rate "radical" but a new poll released Tuesday indicates that a majority of Americans agrees with the idea.
In the latest The Hill-HarrisX survey — conducted Jan. 12 and 13 after the newly elected congresswoman called for the U.S. to raise its highest tax rate to 70 percent — a sizable majority of registered voters, 59 percent, supports the concept.
Ocasio-Cortez has not introduced any legislation to enact the concept but the survey shows a broad cross-section of Americans supports it, at least presently.
Women support the idea by a 62-38 percent margin. A majority of men back it as well, 55 percent to 45 percent. The proposal is popular in all regions of the country with a majority of Southerners backing it by a 57 to 43 percent margin. Rural voters back it as well, 56 percent to 44 percent.
Increasing the highest tax bracket to 70 percent garners a surprising amount of support among Republican voters. In the Hill-HarrisX poll, 45 percent of GOP voters say they favor it while 55 percent are opposed to it.
Independent voters who were contacted backed the tax idea by a 60 to 40 percent margin while Democratic ones favored it, 71 percent to 29 percent.
Ocasio-Cortez is among a group of progressive legislators which includes Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who have called for increasing federal income tax rates on wealthier Americans. The New York Democrat kicked off a debate within her party in a Jan. 6 interview with "60 Minutes" during which she said she would support setting the highest tax, which she said would kick in at individuals 10 millionth dollar of income, at 70 percent.
In her comments to the CBS show, Ocasio-Cortez referenced tax rates that had once been in place during the mid-20th century. During the 1950s and 60s, the wealthiest Americans were once taxed at a rate in excess of 90 percent.
"That doesn't mean all $10 million are taxed at an extremely high rate, but it means that as you climb up this ladder you should be contributing more," she said.
The proposal has been met with both criticism and acceptance within the Democratic party. Republicans and conservative commentators have been universally critical, some incorrectly implying that the congresswoman wants to tax all income of the richest Americans at 70 percent.
The latest Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among a demographically representative sample of registered voters and has a sampling margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Sure, if you only poll at Berkeley or NYU.
I’d propose a Trump call their bluff and propose outright confiscation of anyone wealth above 1 billion dollars. Watch Bezo’s butt boys at the WaPo have a conniption fit.
Extremely very fake news, i.e., a lie.
Plank #2 of the Communist Manifesto: A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
http://laissez-fairerepublic.com/tenplanks.html
Everyone in the top income brackets are not just Democrats. But that doesn’t matter because raising marginal tax rates REDUCES federal receipts. It would also be an economic growth crusher.
Not really when you consider that most of the people in that 59% pay no or low taxes. They always want more, more, more from "the rich."
My view of the rich has changed.
They don’t like America. And what do I owe them exactly?
They aren’t using their wealth to make America great.
Madison’s notes:
“An increase of population will of necessity increase the proportion of those who will labour under all the hardships of life, & secretly sigh for a more equal distribution of its blessings. These may in time outnumber those who are placed above the feelings of indigence. According to the equal laws of suffrage, the power will slide into the hands of the former. No agrarian attempts have yet been made in in this Country, but symtoms, of a leveling spirit, as we have understood, have sufficiently appeared in a certain quarters to give notice of the future danger. How is this danger to be guarded agst. on republican principles? How is the danger in all cases of interested coalitions to oppress the minority to be guarded agst.? Among other means by the establishment of a body in the Govt. sufficiently respectable for its wisdom & virtue, to aid on such emergences, the preponderance of justice by throwing its weight into that scale. Such being the objects of the second branch in the proposed Govt. he thought a considerable duration ought to be given to it. “
But noe ythe Senate is a democratic instituion, subject to the media.
How many would turn their valedictorian kid with 4.0 average (100%) into a 1.2 (30%) - taking away 70% of their grade?.
Good point.
Does anyone have figures on total Federal revenues from, oh, say 2000 - present, year by year, adjusted for inflation?
2018 may have to be an estimate.
Indeed let them have what they vote for and maybe they will wake up
I’d normally agree with you.
If you have any ideas on how to get rid of Red Capitalists, I’m all ears.
They don’t want lower taxes for anyone.
Says who, the Hill? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.........
Taxes are not the way.
The Hill of Crap
Pogo was right! “We has met the enemy and he is us!” Most Americans somehow see there “pot of gold” at the end of someone else’s “rainbow.” But as has been the case like forever, it doesn’t matter if the confiscatory taxes are 70% or 100%, there isn’t enough money there to keep the lights on in the White House very long, let alone make a “comfortable life” for the poor and the bums amongst us.
I wonder how the question was phrased.
I’m with the whack-job on this. All I see from the super-rich are attacks on our freedom (from the tech types) and attacks on our country (from the Soros types).
If a 70% tax rate leaves them with less money to destroy this country, then that is a GOOD THING. And if the rich STILL want to keep their low tax rates, they can whine to the DEMOCRATS, who they support anyway.
This Republican is THROUGH carrying the water for the Super-rich, given how they’re treating Trump.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.