That's just it, they didn't pay that. They paid the same as you and me on their first six figures. The higher bracketed percentages only applied to the portion after that. My numbers might be a little off but that's more or less how it worked

it was 90% after the first $2 million, and that was in 1960. Adjusted for inflation that's something like $14 million today.

It was never really a tax per se. It was a check on out of control wealth concentration and the scary, scary power that comes with it. Plus it had the added bonus of encouraging real investment because hey, it was use it or lose it when it came to money. Now the rich can sit on a Scrooge McDuck style cash horde. But unlike the cartoon there are real consequences to that. Our economy grinds to a halt because all our capital is tied up in excesses like private jets & Mergers and acquisitions. No real value is added.

I saw the best quote ever in a news story a few weeks ago (I'm paraphrasing here): Finance is no longer a tool for getting money into productive businesses but for getting it out.

That's mostly because we've cut taxes on corps so much that they've got more cash than they know what to do with. I miss the 90% tax bracket. It kept corporate power in check and made them think about where they were investing their money. Now they can just casually toss $50 billion here and there and it's no skin off anyone's back.

that's where the statement came from. Nobody is liberal on economic issues, and the environment is just another economic issue in disguise. This is where the disconnect is. If you were socially conservative you'd notice more and the phrase "liberal media" would resonate with you.

most of the real bad pollution was moved to China in the 70s & 80s. Because of this it's hard to get people to buy into the whole "poisoning everything" mantra. Also the only people who have a shot at any change are the middle class; the poor's voting districts are so gerrymandered and corrupt they're basically voiceless. But the middle class live in the suburbs and don't really feel the pollution. That limits our options.

Climate change, for whatever reason, resonates with the middle class. It's about the only thing that draws any attention. You don't win elections based on logic and reason. People vote with their 'gut'. I wish they didn't, but that's just the way it works.

to his father's millions and his mom's seat on the IBM board of directors, but yeah, I guess I'm splitting hairs.

the original "No True Scottsman". There really is no way for it to exist. Sooner or later inheritance alone means somebody is going to get advantages, use them, and start locking down wealth. As soon as you introduce anti trust law you've busted the system.

Private power companies don't work because they don't add value. Power is something _everyone_ wants. When everyone wants something it makes sense for it to be run as a public utility. Adding a private element just lets someone skim 10-20% off the top is all while they cut down on safety. Anyone who thinks private companies are inherently more efficient needs to go watch Office Space again and then go check out the (rather amazing) American Postal System or look at a well funded DMV (as opposed to a DMV run for the purposes of triggering knee jerk reactions from anti-gov't types).

Sure, you have to keep an eye on what the gov't does, but we've already established we have to do the same with business (see the aforementioned anti-trust laws). That's the trouble with socialism. Free Market Capitalism claims to have principles and easy answers. That they're the wrong answers isn't really the issue. Socialists basically say: Hey, the world is _fsckin'_ complex and it takes real hard work to make things run smoothly, and then a Socialist will start blathering on about all the things you need to do to make a system work.

The way I see Free Market Capitalism is this: When have you ever had a difficult problem that got better by leaving it the fsck alone?

it's not about what laws they supported but how they voted. We're a Representational Democracy after all. Right Wing war hawks swept the elections after 9/11 and there was a huge shift to the right. If you ask Americans in general what policies we support we're a pretty left wing bunch, but we don't vote unless we're frightened. If we think everything's ok we stay away from the polls :(.

then you can dispute the charges. Assuming you're in the States that is. I've heard it's a little harder in Europe (America has a few more laws about loads that kick in with CCs), but by no means impossible.

Pretty much ignoring the law in the process. 9/11 really, really screwed America. It's amazing how little it takes the scare the $h!t out of enough of us to throw everything away. So many folks I knew went on and on about ho 9/11 changed everything, but it didn't really. We let it change after the fact, but there was no good reason why we had to let everything go to hell...

were given to keep a strong central gov't from redistributing wealth. The wealthy landowners wanted a weak central gov't that couldn't challenge their power and authority. Say what you will about strong central gov'ts, but there isn't really an alternative that can stand up to an aristocracy. The trick is keeping it from becoming crony style fascism. But it's worth the risk. The only difference between corporate fueled aristocracy and fascism is the color of the jack boot at your neck. Might as well roll the dice with a strong central gov't and try to hang on to it. The only thing you really have to do is not let the bastards divide and conquer. All you need is worker solidarity.

corporations don't pick a venue by accident. I don't know enough about the case to say why but I'm sure the venue was chosen to put him at a disadvantage.

any app simple enough to run on both mobile & desktop is probably a web app. I guess there's games, but I've played ports of mobile games and they don't work. The design choices you make with mobile are completely different, and you usually end up with something that plays poorly on both. Ground Pounders was like that. Tons of control features were missing from the desktop port because they didn't work in mobile, and the game suffered for it...

There's already several programs for the genius of the world to immigrate if they want to so H1-B was never necessary. But how will you get popular support? There's just too many issues that divide the American Workforce. No one votes with their wallets. Whether it's Guns, Gay Marriage, Abortion, Drug Legalization, whatever. There's always something to split the electorate. And with our winner take all 2 party system that means all anyone has to do is get a majority of the vote. Add in Gerrymandering and it's basically a done deal.

To get rid of this crap Americans would have to give up on every other issue they think matters and vote on money and only money. I just don't see that happening. If we could switch to a parliamentary system, but that pretty much means scraping our Constitution; and to hear Americans talk about that damnable piece of scrap paper you'd think it was their bible. To be fair I remember as a kid having it droned into me that it was a sacred document. Every teacher I've ever had sung it's praise. When I was older I found out why we have a Senate (hint: it our version of the House of Lords) and why we had so much States rights. It wasn't for Freedom's sake, that's for sure...

Companies have been working for years to eliminate essential personnel. You find complex tasks and break them down into simpler and simpler tasks. If they were paying middle class wages this wouldn't be feasible. But at slave wages it works perfectly. If you're not doing incredible complex math that requires near genius level intellect that only a few genetic freaks have then your job can be broken down into processes and then your livelihood replaced.

And after 30 years of declining wages who the hell can save anything? 60% of Americans are paycheck to paycheck. And before you trot out that nonsense about buying iPhones every 2 years my generation doesn't smoke. That more than makes up for the cost of a phone every few years. So shove off.

Maybe companies _shouldn't_ be able to drop me anytime. You know, there's a downside to my desperation for you too. That's what unemployment is for. It's not to protect me if I'm unemployed. It's to protect _you_ from competing with me when I'm desperate and I'll take _anything_. See, when that happens they'll fire you with your benefits and your high salary and hire me for minimum wage. The unemployed are coming for you. Welcome to the race to the bottom. It's a long way down.