CONS: Did you know that your Glorious 1950s White Christian USA Paradise was paid by taxing the rich at 90%+?

[Truth]

They like to deny history. Our economy was stronger back then as well. Effective or marginal tax rates, it doesn't matter, the rich still paid well over half of their income to taxes.

[Elliot]

Or...we could eliminate waste and KEEP the job creators in AMERICA. I've never received a paycheck from someone on food stamps, have you?

[Heathen]

That and Glass-Stegal gave us a large middle class but lets not confuse them.

[Johnny Sokko]

Okay, why don't YOU look up "marginal tax rates"

Or are you under the impression that a person who made a million dollars forked over $900,000 to the government?

[VoteVoteVote]

Ah, the 50’s. When union membership was high, when workers were treated like human beings, when a guy could have one working man’s job and have a house to raise his kids in and the wife could stay home if she wanted to. And a bunch of rich people still got richer.

The Republican party has sucked the life out of the middle-class in service of their real God - the filthy rich and their almighty dollars. It’s insane, and it’s wrong.

[Greg0787]

The United States could justify those taxes in part because 1) the world economy was devastated by WW2 and 2) the US essentially had no competitors in certain industries and 3) you weren't competing really with third world labor.

Let's be clear the United States right now has higher business taxes than Canada or many EU nations, but there are tons of loopholes riddled in your tax code.

And let's also be clear about this: Just because business taxes in Sweden are lower than in the US, doesn't mean they can't afford social programs and individual taxes that balance the budget and keep poverty low. Sweden is a highly competitive market economy, but progressive taxation on individuals funds the social benefits the society expects all individuals to be able to enjoy.

If I were you, I'd take a close look right now at Germany and a close look at France. Look at the governments of both. I personally believe France will be a mess coming up, and Germany will be fine. Hollande is making the grave error thinking that if he decides to tax French millionaires far more, they wouldn't opt to live instead in Switzerland or the UK. Well, they would, and that's what will happen.

[commish]

We didn't have a $16T debt and $83T in unfunded liabilities in the 50s.