alt Hacker News> Grade school math. Look at income tax receipts: the top 5% pay >61% of all income taxes.
This is a nonsense comparison unless you include the proportion of income that said taxpayers earn.
> Grade school math. Look at income tax receipts: the top 5% pay >61% of all income taxes.
This is a nonsense comparison unless you include the proportion of income that said taxpayers earn.
Why does this matter? The government spends X dollars each fiscal year, divided by the number (N) of people. Most people aren't paying X/N.
The government would not be able to fund every social program or services if it weren't for these receipts, which, most people cannot afford to pay. Even 100% of the majority of salaries can't cover this amount.
Pretty cut and dry.