Unit Five: Income and Tax Policy
In my opinion, the distribution of income and tax policy in the United States should be changed in order to work toward a more equal distribution where it is harder for the rich to get richer and easier for the poor to build up. It the U.S. today, there are families making millions of dollars a year, while others are struggling to put dinner on the table and there is one easy way to fix this: tax the rich even more. I believe income tax should be increased in the higher bracket of the United States’ tiered system. The upper 10% of American people make 48.5% of the nations income. That number is far too high and does not allow many easy opportunities for the less fortunate to make enough to support themselves.
Distributive justice is the socially fair distribution of goods in a society and at this point in America today, money is bing distrubted extremely unfairly. For example, the average CEO take 431 times the salary of the average worker, but in reality, CEO's do not work 431 times harder. A number like that just proves the wide gap the lower, middle and upper class have. This gap needs to be closed by more logical salaries being paid to the less fortunate who are hard workers as well. People who work 18 hour days, those who work in small shops, restaurants... just to make ends meat should not have to settle for minumin wage, while CEO's who already have millions, obtain salaries of 6 figures or more.
The government should tax the more wealthy citizens of the United States more. Their money should hopefully be distributed toward welfare programs that ulitmatly do a lot to make a positive difference in today's society. For explample, money can be allocated to programs that help homeless people stay off the streets and try to help them work toward a steady job. Another example of a government welfare program can be a program where people who have been involved with crime or different drugs can be mentored and taught to act appropriately and hopefully obtain jobs to rpoivde for themselves and their families as well. Billionaires like Warren Buffet even admit the tax system is failing because he is paying less tax to the country than his assistant who does not make nearly the same income.
Although I sternly believe in trimming the gap between the classes in the United States, there are also many issues that arise with that as well. Many multimillionaires have worked tremendously to get to the places they are and feel that it is unfair for the government to take away so much of their hard earned money, even if it is going to a good cause. They can also argue they do not like where their money is being allocated because why should a homeless man who never worked a day in his life be getting all this help from government welfare programs, when someone who's worked hard for the money can't keep it himself?
