The American Middle-Class has been seen for over a century as being the meat and heart of the nation, both fiscally and physically, as well as being the central consumers to the growth and development of the economy. However, as of late, this once prosperous and important part of our country has begun to see a steady decline, over the last 10 years, due to the increasing eagerness of corporations, to hold onto their money.
Almost 100 years ago, in the early 20th century, the top 1 percent of Americans paid 3/4ths of their income to taxes, resulting in the country having one of the best economies of the time, and in history overall. This also sparked the action of the middle-class, placing their distinct mark on society, and creating the core consumer of goods and services that completely jolted the state of the country in an entirely positive direction.
However Andrew Mellon, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, introduced federal tax cuts to the rich from 75 to 24 percent, thinking that the saved money would somehow go back to the poor and other federal projects, but this certainly was not the case. In 1929, income inequality was so high between the rich and the poor, that the economy came to a breaking point, causing the Great Depression, which lasted for more than 10 years. The length of the depression was due in part to the middle class spending less and less, which in turn caused others to invest less in many companies. This was the worst economic disaster in the history of America, and it could potentially happen again, with the widening gap between the wealthy1 percent, and the rest of the country in today's world.
Right now, in 2015, these big corporations are holding onto their money as they did back in the 1920s, and this poses a huge threat, not only for the already shrinking middle-class, but for the entire country's well-being. It is estimated that if the top earning Americans were taxed at least 67 percent of their income, they would generate more than $4 trillion in the next ten years, even more so if corporations were taxed heavily as well. This means that the United States could potentially wipe out all of our federal debt of over $16 trillion, in less than 20 years.[1] The fact that the struggling middle-class are the ones trying to carry over a lot of their own income, to cover taxes as well as bills, their children's education, and all else that is needed to make a decent living for their families, brings such a strain to them, that they have become unable to afford essential commodities that make up a large part of America's economic stability, such as housing and vehicle purchases.
Another problem is the CEOs, who cut out many of their worker's salary only to gain more profit for themselves. For example, Philippe Dauman, the CEO of Viacom, the same company that owns MTV, and Nickelodeon, along with many other popular TV channels, is planning to slashing over $350 million in jobs. In addition to workers losing their jobs, the CEO recently took a 19% pay bonus of $20 million for himself.
In a world where the rich are just getting richer, what are the rest of us, who are just trying to get by, to do? We can urge politicians to take a look at the tax problem in this country, but how do you tell that to people who are already playing the system themselves?
