income tax

The United States used to be known as the “land of opportunity” but today; this statement is slowly dissolving because of the increasing gap in income inequality and the rising poverty rates. Although the United States GDP has nearly tripled over the last 40 years, only a small percentage of American’s have reaped the benefits of this massive growth. The reason that caused the real income for the middle class to barely increase is because of tax cuts and other political policies that have funneled money to the upper echelon. Wealthy American’s are able to receive tax cuts and policies that are in their favor because they have a significant influence on politicians and are able to persuade them to pass laws in their favor. The United States government should increase taxes on the wealthy, increase the minimum wage, institute more pre-kindergarden education opportunities for poor children, and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit program, which would reduce the income gap between the social classes and promote social mobility to revive the faith that the U.S. is the land of opportunity.

Taxes are the government’s main source of revenue, with roughly 47% of the tax revenue coming from income tax (Griffith and Schwabish). Because of this high percentage, as well as the strain caused from the extensive filing process, this is an important issue today. If nothing is done about the variable rate income tax, the middle and lower class Americans will continue to pay more than their fair share in taxes and the upper class will continue to pay well below their fair share. This will create a bigger gap between the classes. This is such an important issue to me because I come from a middle class American family that would like to pay less in taxes, and I believe in equality for all.

Their urgency and power also often tend to be higher. An argument against flat tax systems that would be heard from low-income taxpayers, or pitched for them in many cases, would be akin to, “a flat-rate tax would work well if everyone made the same amount – or at least close – however, since America has the highest wealth inequality in the world our tax structure should reflect that. Shouldn’t the people that own 60% of the wealth, pay 60% of the taxes? Is it fair for someone who makes less than 1% of the nation’s wealth to pay the same amount in taxes than someone who makes 40% of the nation’s wealth?” (Forgue, 2013). Middle-class taxpayers are often the class

Another negative effect is that many industries pay illegal immigrants a lower wage saving money on the higher wages a native would earn. Even though illegal immigrants bring some rewards the overall negative effects of lower wages, tax burdens, and less available jobs is why illegal immigration should be stopped. In some ways illegal immigrants do contribute to the economy. They generate extra income for our economy but do lower some wages (Hanson). Illegal immigrants generate extra income because their labor increase brings an increase in output which leads to more income for U.S. businesses (Hanson).

What happens when tax money is already appropriated to other programs? A tax reform. A tax increase has many times been the government's remedy to a budget deficit; however, this puts a strain on the taxpayers. Of course the financial burden is not equal across the board, as some taxes withhold more money from some individuals than others based on the nature of the tax. A progressive tax takes a larger percent of income from those in high-income groups than those in low-income groups.

In other words, “lower income people pay a greater share of their income sales and payroll taxes than higher-income people” (Henchman). In America, the wealthy are being favored while everyone else has to pay. While hard to believe, education and inheritance may play a role in the increasing wealth gap in the U.S.; along with the government’s flounder... ... middle of paper ... .... "Bailing Out Capitalism." Current History 112.757 (2013): 304-310. Academic Search Complete.

Landstar used $254 million during 2015, an increase from the $112 million used during 2014 (LSTR 10-k, 39). Like J.B. Hunt, Landstar had more cash at their disposal and they were able to use some of that money to purchase more treasury stocks. Also, since Landstar did not use much of their cash on investing activities, they had more to spend on financing activities. This represents the biggest difference between the two companies regarding their cash flow. Due to Landstar being asset light, they generate less cash from operating activities and they use more of that cash on financing activities since they do not have much of a need to invest.

Immigration is nothing but good for the United States, immigrants do not come to just take away from us, they come and also provide for this country. They are hard workers looking to succeed in any field of work as long as they are earning money and helping out. They are investing the money they earn here in the U.S, most of their money comes back to the U.S economy. High skilled immigrants are more likely to pay for more taxes than they use in public services. Immigrants do pay and taxes, and not all use government services.

There should not be so many cities with very wealthy neighborhoods right next door to low class, rundown neighborhoods, with little middle class households. Digging deeper, 47.6% of the money in the United States belongs to individuals that receive $98,200 or more (“Distribution of U.S. family income”, 101). The middle class should be much more noticeable with the upper and lower classes being a little more rare. The middle class can be restored in order to lessen the income gap and therefore create a more perfect utopia. The income gap is actually not staying where it is or getting smaller, it is growing.

1. Tax Cuts Caused Income Inequality Income inequality is a big problem in the United States because the top, wealthiest American saw huge increases in their incomes, which the rest had their incomes go down. Bottom people do not have the same amount of money and the opportunity to move up the social ladder as the rich people do. In order to reduce income inequality, the government needs to tax the rich people more, and give poor people more money and more social services - education, food subsidies, health care. Tax cuts are only benefiting the richest people, and will widen the inequality gap between the rich and the poor.