Tax system unfair

Dear editor:

I hope the people of Arkansas will take the time to consider some of the thoughts of Nobel laureate (Economics 2001) Joseph Stiglitz. He is a world-renowned economist and has presented some of his ideas in a paper to the Roosevelt Commission of which he is a senior member. He has tried to figure out why our economy is doing so well for some while so poorly for so many others. He suggests that the top is no longer paying their fair share. And with all the power they have accumulated at the top, they, in fact, now have the ability, and do, create laws which benefit themselves.

You decide which is worse? 1. People who have very little, trying to take advantage of programs to help them get along ... or; 2. people who are doing very well already, but find ways to do even better by doing such things as creating laws that benefit only them. Today, they can legally put money in tax shelters outside the U.S. to avoid taxes. Today, they are rewarded for taking jobs out of America so they have cheap labor and few labor restrictions.

The way the tax system works in America today, the bulk of the taxes are put on the earners of ordinary income. Mr. Stiglitz points out, America is no longer the land of opportunity and advancement. We now are among the countries which least provide opportunities to advance. He recommends only rewarding the wealthiest among us, the so-called job creators, with tax breaks if they are willing to help Americans by investing in American workers and creating jobs here. He points out that the median income for the average American male, full-time worker in 1972 was doing better than that of today. That's over 40 years where the top did very well while the average full-time worker was for those 40 years losing calculated living wages. Does corporate America not have a responsibility to help our middle class thrive and succeed?

I hope all the young people today who are concerned about their own income and future will read the 27-page paper Mr. Stiglitz has written. It offers them some hope. This paper is available online with a minimum search. Or search out Bill Moyers' show where you can watch and listen to Mr. Stiglitz. The people need to get involved, get informed and demand change to save our country. Read this paper and then drop a line to your representatives to make sure they read it also. Maybe, with a little urging, our representatives will take note and be impelled to act, doing something which will actually help get our middle class fairly and properly back on its feet.

Bill Wiedmann

Hot Springs

Editorial on 09/14/2014

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