Steve Young (Democrat Cal-48th) identifies a new “two class system” in America. One class, the gainers, is the top 1% of wage earners who benefit from five years of Bush’s tax cuts. The other, the workers who are the 99% of wage earners, have fallen behind while carrying an inordinate tax burden. Steve says it is time for tax code fairness.
The working families of America have not seen the benefits of five years of Bush’s top heavy tax cuts. Instead of fueling the economy and benefiting the American worker, the tax cuts are eliminating the middle class, and creating a two-class America: the gainers and the workers. For the gainers, the economy is white hot. The gainers benefit from globalization, technology, greater productivity and higher corporate earnings. On the other hand declining wages, decreasing benefits and an unfair share of income taxes burden the American working class.
Proof is abundant: Those at the very top of the income spectrum, the gainers, received raises that outpace inflation, and tax cuts to boot. For example, in 2004, the top 1 percent of earners – a group that includes many chief executives – received 11.2 percent of all wage income. This is up from 8.7 percent ten years ago and almost twice what top earners received thirty years ago.
Contrast that with the 2 percent decline in the median hourly wage for American workers since 2003, after factoring in inflation. Yet the administration touts gains in American wages. This is because the gains for the top earners skews average income, making wages appear better, while working families lose pace to inflation and rising costs.
It is time for fairness. Large corporations and the wealthy are not paying their fair share so America’s working class has to make up the difference. Fair taxation means we all pay our way, and we all pay our fair share. The wealthiest Americans use our public infrastructure more than anyone else, such as the courts, the Patent Trademark and Copyright Office, the FDA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Department of Transportation (Companies depend on sound roads, railways and ports to transport their products).
Working America pays taxes but the wealthy and corporations use more of our public resources than an ordinary family does — they should pay accordingly. Every American, and every company should pay their fair share to support America. Fairness used to be an American value — I will advocate a fair, “all pay” tax code. George Bush has no solutions. Steve Young does.
