A lady I work with insists that the overwhelming majority of the Occupy movement is comprised of hard working, common American citizens who just want fairness in the tax code and fat cats to stop taking advantage of the poor.
As you obviously know, that lady you work with doesn't know what she's talking about. This is occurring throughout Europe and Canada as well and represents the dregs of society.
Last week, the hotel where I was staying in Toronto was only a few blocks away from the park where
their batch of occupy clowns are staying. On Thursday, I noticed this brand new BMW 5 series in a parking lot next to the park. I watched this guy climb out of one of the tents, pull stuff out of the trunk (or boot) and take it back to his tent. What's this guy whining about if he can afford a BMW 5 series?
Oh... And, everyone is smoking pot. You can probably get stoned if you walk close enough to the area.
As for fairness in the tax code, share the following with this wingnut...
In 1990, the top 1% earned 14% of all reported income and paid 25% of all federal income taxes.
In 2000, the top 1% earned 21% of all reported income and paid 37% of all federal income taxes.
In 2005, the top 1% earned 21% of all reported income and paid 39% of all federal income taxes.
Also...
In 1990, the top 5% earned 27% of all reported income and paid 44% of all federal income taxes.
In 2000, the top 5% earned 35% of all reported income and paid 56% of all federal income taxes.
In 2005, the top 5% earned 36% of all reported income and paid 60% of all federal income taxes.
The top wage earners might be earning a bit more than they did 20 years ago, but they're also paying a lot more in federal taxes than they did 20 years ago.
You can run your own analysis with these numbers...
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/05in05tr.xls
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