Americans in the early 40s have a median of just over $67,000, as the EPI numbers show. For 44 to 49-year-olds, the average savings checks in at $81,349. Money is beginning to add up but overall, savers in their 40s still have their work cut out for them. …
According to the research, the average retirement savings for families aged 50 to 55 is $124,831. For families aged 56 to 61, it’s $163,577. Those figures are far less than the $1 million that many experts recommend as a target for retirement savings. While Social Security can supplement existing retirement savings, the average monthly retirement benefit of $1,329 may not be enough to fill the gap.
So while I agree it does nothing for the poor for the middle and upper middle it is helpful.
I think we’re mostly in agreement at the high level point (that this doesn’t help the poor), but your data looks at people who already have 401ks setup so the numbers are quite skewed.
Data suggests that only 52% of all Americans have ANY money invested in stocks (including 401ks) - link
Beneficial (albeit not hugely) for me, presumably you, and others able to put $100k in the market. Not so much for the nearly half of all Americans who don’t own any stocks, and presumably another good percentage who have a much lower investment. Just another point in the larger argument that current tax law as signed in Dec was great for the haves, and a terrible terrible travesty against the have-nots.
So the proposal is $500 per head tax in Seattle to go to affordable housing, that is for poorer people. That’s less than $50 per month per employee as a tax. Amazon could easily take the tax break windfall they are getting with the reduction in corporate tax and cover this.
Once again Corporate America shows its true colors.
It does absolutely nothing about housing. The real problem in Seattle is that there simply isn’t enough supply; but the only way to do anything about that is to rezone, which the elected officials are loathe to do.
Here’s a great article last week about the problem.
The city pushed a recent sugar tax that went into effect this year and made headlines, but then shocked everyone when it said that most of the money raised by the tax wasn’t actually being spent on the actual programs that it was meant to go toward. That’s not a great recent track record, especially when people are still mad.
I do believe there is a tipping point on taxes, even in a liberal city like Seattle. Look at California and Prop 13. And this is on top of an idea floating around to push an income tax on Seattle residents.
It may be a shitty tax – no idea – but after a windfall to corporate taxes that Trump has delivered, why not give back a bit? Instead of Amazon making threats why not propose something different they would support?
Yes. It’s one of those amazing things that in one of the most Left/Progressive/Liberal cities in America, our only daily newspaper is pretty much center-right. We had a second paper back in the day (the P.I.) that was more lefty, but it went online-only a decade ago, and recently downsized even more. We have another rag, The Stranger, that was the voice of liberal/Queer Seattle (it’s where Dan Savage got his start, for example), but they’ve been trending toward a focus on the tech/bro crowd to survive, and recently went bi-weekly even so.
My company distributed a one time bonus this week as a result of the tax cut. Our fiscal year ended a few months back so financials are publicly available. Their estimated benefit from 1 quarter of sales and a year of reevaluating deferred taxes was around $90 million. My bonus came out to roughly a day’s pay.
Eh but why shouldn’t Trump get hammered for it. After all that was still during his term as president, plus the bloviating Buffon was all to quick to take credit for plant moves and expansion within the US that had been planned and announced before his tenure.
So all or nothing. Take credit for the good, eat shit for the bad.
It’s typical. If it’s good, the President takes credit. If it’s bad, the President blames the opposing party and previous administration. And threatens to jail Hillary just because rawr…Clintons!
