OPINION — Wealth inequality in the United States has reached levels that should concern every American. While millions of working families struggle to afford housing, healthcare, childcare and higher education, a small percentage of the population continues to accumulate enormous wealth at an historic pace.
Hard work should provide stability and opportunity, yet many full-time workers live paycheck to paycheck. At the same time, large corporations and the wealthiest Americans often benefit from tax loopholes and economic policies that widen the gap between rich and poor.
Historically, federal income-tax rates for the top earners in 1965 were 70%. Today the top federal rate is 37%, and the top corporate rate is 21%, a decrease of over 52% from the 1960s. These massive decreases in tax rates on the rich and corporations occurred under the Reagan, Bush and Trump administrations. Extreme inequality weakens our democracy and undermines social trust. A healthy economy depends on a strong middle class, fair wages, affordable education and equal opportunity.
