How Is The Distribution Of Wealth Determined In The United States?
Answer #1: It is determined by what we tax and what we don’t; what we permit to be privatized, and what we socialize. When we permit the privatization of natural resources and the economic value of land, by collecting only small royalties and low taxes on land value, we permit individuals and corporate shareholders to privatize value which all of us create. Corporate stock ownership is quite concentrated, even though lots of people own a little each. When we place taxes on buildings, and the sales of goods and sometimes services, we tax that which individuals and corporations create. Many would argue that this is unfair, and most economists would agree that we discourage production, innovation and job creation. When we place taxes on wages, we socialize a part of that which individuals create. At the very highest income levels, where a significant portion of “wages” might actually be natural resource values, or urban land rent, or other kinds of privilege, we are — somewhat clumsily –
