[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Porsche911NYC
"The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. that's fact, regardless of your politics. The middle class, which shoulders the bulk of the tax burden, is shrinking."

That statement is way off base. The top 5% of taxpayers in the United States account for more than 55% of the total tax revenue (those with an AGI of at least $120,000 annually, meaning a married couple each earning $60,000). The bottom 50% (those earning less than $26,000 annually) shoulder ONLY 4% of the tax burden.

Even more telling is a study verifying that the rich are NOT getting richer at the expense of the poor. Entitled "Moving Up? Earnings Mobility in California," it tracked the wages of more than 180,000 Cailifornians from 1988 to 2000. It found that those in the bottom quintile more than doubled their earnings (+100%) during that period. At the other extreme, the top quintile realized only a 7% increase for the same period. Other studies done for different time periods and geographic regions confirm this.

Oh, and as for my qualifications, I'm the President & CEO of a Wall Street investment firm and a Professor of Economics at a major university.

Some food for thought, and something I drill into my students:
You are paid what you're worth.

Oh, and if anybody is offended by that, good, you should be. America is still the land of opportunity (you don't see people emigrating to any other country, do you?).

I agree...plus "the economy" is not a zero sum game. Liberals tend to portray it as if it's a poker game and all players have a set sum of money...then the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. In real life, it doesn't work that way...I'm sure Porsche911NYC could explain this better than I...