THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET...

I usually wouldn't use charts this big on this page, but the dates under each segment are important. As the chart title says, this is the distribution of average income growth during periods of economic expansion. What makes these data interesting is not so much that between 2009 and 2012 the top 10% grew massively while the other 90% had negative income growth. No, what makes this interesting is when you look at the top individual income tax rate during the early time periods.

In 1949 the top tax rate was 82.1%. In 1951 the top rate grew to 91% and stayed at 91% until 1963. Notice anything different about income growth during those years compared to the 21st century? Ya, the lower 90% of earners had actual significant growth in their income during those periods of incredibly high tax rates. Why was this so? Because the economy between 1951 and 1981 grew at an average rate of 3.7%, but between 1981 and 2013 it has grown by an average of only 2.8%.

So lets review. Not only do super high tax rates not hurt the middle class, but they also seem to do no harm to the growth rate of the general economy. And what significant event began in 1981, the year the economy and middle class income growth both started down? The so-called Reagan Revolution and the Trickle Down theory of economic growth. Facts is facts. Just sayin'.