The Rich Work Hard for Their Money (except That They Don’t) 0
Robert Reich contrasts the myth of the hard-working rich with the reality.
(snip)
As the French economist Thomas Piketty reminds us, this is the kind of dynastic wealth that’s kept Europe’s aristocracy going for centuries. It’s about to become the major source of income for a new American aristocracy.
The tax code encourages all this by favoring unearned income over earned income.
The top tax rate paid by America’s wealthy on their capital gains — the major source of income for the non-working rich — has dropped from 33 percent in the late 1980s to 20 percent today, putting it substantially below the top tax rate on ordinary income (36.9 percent).
Afterthought:
Some websites don’t seem to like it when I copy a small bit of text for “fair use”; instead, they try to force the whole darn page on me.
