“I think that it only has ever been radicals that have changed this country,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Congress Ocasio-Cortez floats 70 percent tax on the super wealthy to fund Green New Deal
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is floating an income tax rate as high as 60 to 70 percent on the highest-earning Americans to combat carbon emissions.
Speaking with Anderson Cooper in a “60 Minutes” interview scheduled to air Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez said a dramatic increase in taxes could support her “Green New Deal” goal of eliminating the use of fossil fuels within 12 years — a goal she acknowledges is ambitious.
“What is the problem with trying to push our technological capacities to the furthest extent possible?” Ocasio-Cortez asked. “There’s an element where yeah, people are going to have to start paying their fair share in taxes.”
Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that in a progressive tax rate system, not all income for a high earner is taxed at such a high rate. Rather, rates increase on each additional level of income, with dramatic increases on especially high earnings, such as $10 million.
When Cooper pointed out such a tax plan would be a “radical” move, Ocasio-Cortez embraced the label, arguing the most influential historical figures, from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt, were called radical for their agendas as well.
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“I think that it only has ever been radicals that have changed this country,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Yeah, if that’s what radical means, call me a radical.”
prime_nommer on January 4th, 2019 at 15:14 UTC »
Again, this is a marginal tax rate. It's not as if the wealthy would be giving up 70% of their wealth or even their income. It would be up to 60% or 70% of income above a certain level. The top tax rate has been in this ballpark as recently as the 1970s. It's a completely reasonable approach.
gooners1 on January 4th, 2019 at 15:14 UTC »
We do such a poor job in the US of discussing our own tax system. We have a progressive system where income at higher levels is taxed at higher rates. It's not, "rich people pay x rate", it's "income over a certain level is taxed at x rate".
So I am glad to open the article and see that she is quoted:
I think real talk about tax rates will get more support for adding brackets one day.
MorbidMongoose on January 4th, 2019 at 15:08 UTC »
Before people dismiss that as unworkable, under FDR the top tax bracket was 90%.
Edit, since this blew up:
Understand that a 90% tax bracket is not applied to all of your earnings, just those in excess of some amount.
I didn't actually offer an opinion on whether it would be good or bad, just that it's not out of the realm of the possible.
I realize that we were in a different economic situation.
I realize no one will actually pay that much, thanks to deductions, etc.