http://www.geocities.com/agihard/incomedist.html
Income distribution is who makes how much money. It usually refers to the population of a whole country, and to the total of all salaries or wages. In 1990 in the US, the richest 20% made 44% of all income, the poorest 20% made only 4.6% of all income. How does this compare to Brazil? In 1996 the richest 20% of Brazilians made 63% of all income, while the poorest 20% made only 3% of all income.
When there is a big middle class, more people can go to college and make use of their talents. The whole country benefits. If the poor become the biggest group, then the talents of these people--potentially high IQs, batting averages, etc.--are wasted. The country as a whole looses out. But if the rich create jobs and wealth, why shouldn't they be encouraged? CEOs don't create wealth, they only redistribute it. Any one executive could (and would!) be easily replaced by another. Only a company with a real innovation is irreplaceable. Only inventors and entrepreneurs really create wealth.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Flat Tax is Not a Fair Tax
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7146/flattax.html
Graduated tax system with no exemptions/deductions-- Everyone contributes to financing the government. The poor would not face a jump from paying no tax to paying 17% tax. This would encourage the poor to stay poor. Most exemptions/deductions come as favors to industry or wealthy people. The middle class are unable to take advantage of exemptions and deduction which serve as a barrier between the middle class and the rich.
Flat Tax-- a flat tax system would have everybody pays the same rate. This system seems fair on the surface. If the tax rate were 10%, a poor person who makes $10,ooo/yr would pay $1,000 in taxes while a rich person who makes $1,000,000/yr would pay $100,000 in taxes. You make more, you pay more.
Graduated Tax-- However, another dollar added to a rich person's income means less than another dollar to a poor person. In other words, when poor people get another dollar, they might use it to eat better. When rich people get another dollar, they will only increase their level of luxury.
National Sales Tax-- This benifits the rich. The poor spend a larger porportion of thier income in stores than the rich.
Graduated tax system with no exemptions/deductions-- Everyone contributes to financing the government. The poor would not face a jump from paying no tax to paying 17% tax. This would encourage the poor to stay poor. Most exemptions/deductions come as favors to industry or wealthy people. The middle class are unable to take advantage of exemptions and deduction which serve as a barrier between the middle class and the rich.
Graduated tax system with no exemptions/deductions-- Everyone contributes to financing the government. The poor would not face a jump from paying no tax to paying 17% tax. This would encourage the poor to stay poor. Most exemptions/deductions come as favors to industry or wealthy people. The middle class are unable to take advantage of exemptions and deduction which serve as a barrier between the middle class and the rich.
Flat Tax-- a flat tax system would have everybody pays the same rate. This system seems fair on the surface. If the tax rate were 10%, a poor person who makes $10,ooo/yr would pay $1,000 in taxes while a rich person who makes $1,000,000/yr would pay $100,000 in taxes. You make more, you pay more.
Graduated Tax-- However, another dollar added to a rich person's income means less than another dollar to a poor person. In other words, when poor people get another dollar, they might use it to eat better. When rich people get another dollar, they will only increase their level of luxury.
National Sales Tax-- This benifits the rich. The poor spend a larger porportion of thier income in stores than the rich.
Graduated tax system with no exemptions/deductions-- Everyone contributes to financing the government. The poor would not face a jump from paying no tax to paying 17% tax. This would encourage the poor to stay poor. Most exemptions/deductions come as favors to industry or wealthy people. The middle class are unable to take advantage of exemptions and deduction which serve as a barrier between the middle class and the rich.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
ER-- Safety Net of US Health Care
ERs operate as the safety net for our health care system. COBRA/EMTALA legislation mandate that ERs see and treat any and all patients. However, with increases in the numbers of uninsured and decreases in federal and private reimbursement, ERs are losing money while treating more patients than ever before. Currently, 80% of ERs in the US are running at capacity. The following list discribes health care populations who fall into the ER safety net: 1. EMS ground/air 2. Uninsured 3. Patient dumping (other hospitals) 4. After hours 5. Nursing homes 6. Disaster response 7. Prisons/Jails 8. Clinic overflow 9. Homeless 10. Psych Crisis
Uninsured in America
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/uploaded_files/Kellermann_Testimony.pdf Aurthur Kellermann, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health testified before the US Congress and dispelled 4 commonly held beliefs about the 45 million uninsured in America. Myth: “People without health insurance get the medical care they need.” Myth: “Most people without health insurance are young, healthy adults who decline coverage offered in the workplace because they feel they don’t need it.” Myth: “Most of the uninsured don’t work, or live in families where no one works.” Myth: “Recent immigration has been a major source of the increase in the uninsured population."
Aurthur Kellermann, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health testified before the US Congress and dispelled 4 commonly held beliefs about the 45 million uninsured in America.
Myth: “People without health insurance get the medical care they need.” Reality: In any given year, the uninsured are much more likely to lack needed medical care. They are less likely to see a doctor, receive fewer preventive services such as blood pressure checks, mammograms and screening for colorectal cancer, and are less likely to have a regular source of medical care particularly for those with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Myth: “Most people without health insurance are young, healthy adults who decline coverage offered in the workplace because they feel they don’t need it.” Reality: Young adults are more likely than persons of other ages to be uninsured largely because they are ineligible for workplace health insurance – many are too new in their jobs, or they work for a business that does not provide health insurance coverage to its employees. Only 4 percent of all workers ages 18 – 44, or about 3 million people, are uninsured because they declined available workplace health insurance. Many of these do so because they can’t afford their share of the premium. Nearly four times as many workers in the same age group, approximately 11 million people, are uninsured because their employer does not offer health insurance, and they cannot afford to purchase insurance elsewhere.
Myth: “Most of the uninsured don’t work, or live in families where no one works.” Reality: More than eighty percent of uninsured children and adults under the age of 65 live in working families. While working improves the chances that both the worker and his or her family will be insured, it is not a guarantee. Even members of families with two full-time wage earners have almost a one-in-ten chance of being uninsured.
Myth: “Recent immigration has been a major source of the increase in the uninsured population.” Reality: Between 1994 and 1998, over 80 percent of the growth in the size of the uninsured population consisted of U.S. citizens. Recent immigrants (those who have resided in the U.S. for fewer than 6 years) are about three times as likely as members of the general population to be uninsured, but they comprise only about 6 percent of the
uninsured population.
Non-hispanic whites comprise 50% of the uninsured. African Americans are twice as likely to be uninsured as non-hispanic whites. Hispanic whites are three times as likely to be uninsured as non-hispanic whites. Foreign-born U.S. residents are three times as likely to be uninsured as people born in this country. Among the foreign born, non-citizens are more than twice as likely to lack coverage as naturalized citizens.
The risk of being uninsured varies regionally. Roughly a quarter of the populations of Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California are uninsured.
Aurthur Kellermann, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health testified before the US Congress and dispelled 4 commonly held beliefs about the 45 million uninsured in America.
Myth: “People without health insurance get the medical care they need.” Reality: In any given year, the uninsured are much more likely to lack needed medical care. They are less likely to see a doctor, receive fewer preventive services such as blood pressure checks, mammograms and screening for colorectal cancer, and are less likely to have a regular source of medical care particularly for those with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Myth: “Most people without health insurance are young, healthy adults who decline coverage offered in the workplace because they feel they don’t need it.” Reality: Young adults are more likely than persons of other ages to be uninsured largely because they are ineligible for workplace health insurance – many are too new in their jobs, or they work for a business that does not provide health insurance coverage to its employees. Only 4 percent of all workers ages 18 – 44, or about 3 million people, are uninsured because they declined available workplace health insurance. Many of these do so because they can’t afford their share of the premium. Nearly four times as many workers in the same age group, approximately 11 million people, are uninsured because their employer does not offer health insurance, and they cannot afford to purchase insurance elsewhere.
Myth: “Most of the uninsured don’t work, or live in families where no one works.” Reality: More than eighty percent of uninsured children and adults under the age of 65 live in working families. While working improves the chances that both the worker and his or her family will be insured, it is not a guarantee. Even members of families with two full-time wage earners have almost a one-in-ten chance of being uninsured.
Myth: “Recent immigration has been a major source of the increase in the uninsured population.” Reality: Between 1994 and 1998, over 80 percent of the growth in the size of the uninsured population consisted of U.S. citizens. Recent immigrants (those who have resided in the U.S. for fewer than 6 years) are about three times as likely as members of the general population to be uninsured, but they comprise only about 6 percent of the
uninsured population.
Non-hispanic whites comprise 50% of the uninsured. African Americans are twice as likely to be uninsured as non-hispanic whites. Hispanic whites are three times as likely to be uninsured as non-hispanic whites. Foreign-born U.S. residents are three times as likely to be uninsured as people born in this country. Among the foreign born, non-citizens are more than twice as likely to lack coverage as naturalized citizens.
The risk of being uninsured varies regionally. Roughly a quarter of the populations of Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California are uninsured.
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