Taxes on 1% should be increased

Abby Eyler, Staff Writer

Corporations have seen years of low tax rates in order to encourage economic growth within the United States. With this mindset, the taxes on the 1% have also been low when compared to the tax rates of the rest of the United States. A standard of Reagan’s trickle-down economics was to not tax the rich as much. The expectation was that the money that the 1% did not pay in taxes would re-circulate into the economy through large purchases from national companies, and that they would keep most of their business in the United States. However, the expectations of Reagan’s economic ideals failed. Many billionaires kept their wealth and accumulated more wealth, seen through buyouts of other companies and expanding companies as a whole.

Giants of wealth such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have accumulated wealth with a low tax-rate and have not spent that money to benefit the country.Zuckerberg has been charged by the FCC with creating a social media monopoly through the buy-out of companies such as Instagram and WhatsApp, and using user data to feature targeted ads and giving away personal information of users.These two ideas have shown how the 1%, those in charge of large corporations, are going to spend their money in ways that only benefit themselves and not the consumer. Since the money also has not re-circulated into the United States economy, it affects those who rely on the United States Government for Social Security, Civil Servant Pensions, Welfare programs such as SNAP and other programs. It also affects those who do not heavily rely on the government since corporations are allowed to inflate prices and violate laws in place to protect consumers. Without tax increases, the government shows that they prioritize the accumulation of wealth over the people of the United States.

Billionaires have proven to use money against the common good when accumulated beyond need, which has adversely affected the majority of the United States. Therefore, taxes should be raised on the 1% to encourage economic growth and provide money for the government programs used to help those who live deprived of basic needs.