FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Dear Tom Browkaw: I call on you to frame these claims of "Socialism" in light of American history. and to point out that redistribution of wealth is not a dirty word/phrase. I am 64 years old, and I would hazard a guess that you are a man with a similarly long memory. Chances are therefore good that you remember that in the fifties, when I first paid income taxes, there was in place a income tax schedule that had about six tax brackets. Persons in the top bracket where required to be something close to 70% of there net income. There were many clever tax shelters that protected all such persons except those who had no income but regular income. None-the-less the total of all tax revenues was much higher than today on a percentage basis. The claim on the part of "trickle down" enthusiasts that 60% of taxes are paid by the top few percent income earners ought to be contrasted with the percentage of all income received by this same group. If the percentages were adjusted to rates that represented a fair distribution of TAX burden on a percentage of income received, we would have what we used to call progressive taxation. Over the years many loopholes in the code were closed, and the top bracket was reduced in an attempt to make the income tax more truly a progressive one. Beginning with Barry Goldwater conservatives have aspired to make the tax code more regressive so that those who were "smart people who worked hard would be "properly rewarded. With the advent of the trickle down policy that came in with President Reagen this trend has accelerated at an ever increasing rate. Witness the Bush tax cuts. During this period our school systems have deteriorated. Art and music are no longer included in the curricula of public schools in most jurisdictions and band money has had to be provided by PTA's and bake sales. Also a regressive manifestation FYI. Our roads have more potholes, our bridges are falling down, and in many places new roads have not been built were they are needed. Most working class families must have both mom and dad working in order to provide for a comfortable life, i.e., home ownership/transportation/college tuition plus the usual necessities This can hardly be attributed to coincidence Perhaps most disturbing, if the relatively rapid upward redistribution of wealth we have witnessed in the last 40 years continues it will create a situation where a revolution of some sort would not be inconceivable. Sincerely, Philip Gamerman Tucson AZ. 520 744-4124