drdougdouglass:gregorygalloway:The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was enacted on 22 Oct. 1986. It was t
drdougdouglass: gregorygalloway: The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was enacted on 22 Oct. 1986. It was the first time in history that the highest tax rate was reduced (from 50% to 28%) while the lowest rate was increased (from 11% to 15%). Before the law took place the top 1% of America’s income earners received 8.4% of the nations pay, by 1989 they accounted for 13.5% and by 2012, nearly 25%. The Tax Reform Act not only saw an increase in the income inequality, combined with increases in government spending, it also resulted in significant increase in the national debt. In fact, the loss of revenue and increased government spending during the 1980s tripled the Federal Debt. This was literally the Day the Middle Class Died. This began the “Area of Smaller Government”, which promoted privatizing state and local municipal services, and dismantling opportunities and the safety-net for those who had been able to find a path way to the middle class as the result of the Civil Rights Act and public sector employment. It took 30 years for Republican Tickle Down economics to decimate the American Dream and insure that the next generation has far less than the one that came before it. -- source link