making america work*
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Making America Work*. Jon Forman Alfred P. Murrah Professor of Law University of Oklahoma www.law.ou.edu/faculty/forman.shtml U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Education, Workforce and Income Security (EWIS) Speaker Series Washington, DC May 15, 2007. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Making America Work*Jon Forman
Alfred P. Murrah Professor of Law
University of Oklahoma
www.law.ou.edu/faculty/forman.shtml
U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Education, Workforce and Income Security (EWIS) Speaker Series
Washington, DC
May 15, 2007
*A presentation based on Jonathan Barry Forman, Making America Work (Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 2006).
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Figure 1. Share of Household Income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Poorest 20% Middle 20% Richest 20%
Per
cent
Free market After taxes & transfers
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Figure 2. How Taxes and Transfers Improved Equity, 2004
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Percent of households
Per
cen
t of
hou
seh
old
inco
me
Line of perfect equality
Lorenz curve (income before taxesand transfers)
Lorenz curve (income after taxes andtransfers)
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Figure 3. Family Income by Percentile, 1950-2003 (2003 dollars)
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,000
$140,000
$160,000
$180,000
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
20th percentile
40th percentile
60th percentile
80th percentile
95th percentile
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2005b), table F-1.
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Figure 4. Ratio of Average Household Income of the Top 5 and 20 Percent of Households to the Average Household Income of the Bottom 20 Percent of Households, 1970-2000
10.6 9.8 10.211.3 11.9
13.2 13.8
16.214.5 14.7
17.0
19.1
22.7
24.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
Rat
io
Top 20%/bottom 20%
Top 5%/bottom 20%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2004b), table IE-3.
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Table 1. Average Annual Earnings of Full-time Workers, 2004
Doctors $128,689
Lawyers 105,716
Economists 71,672
Nurses 53,289
Police 50,063
Auto mechanics 38,967
Secretaries 32,349
Garbage collectors 31,284
Orderlies 20,959
Waiters and waitresses 8,789
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Figure 5. Distribution of Earnings, 2004
$15,600 $26,000 $36,000$50,000
$84,000
$0
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentile
Ear
nin
gs
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Figure 6. Distribution of Workers by Earnings Category, 2004
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
< 0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 >250
Earnings (thousands of dollars)
Per
cent
of
wor
kers
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Figure 7. Wages by Percentile, 1979-2003
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
1979 1985 1991 1997 2003
Year
Dol
lars
per
hou
r 20
03$)
95th percentile
90th percentile
80th percentile
50th percentile
20th percentile
10th percentile
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Figure 8. The Size Distribution of Wealth, 2001: Percentage Share of Wealth Held by...
33.4
25.8
12.3 12.9
84.4
11.3
3.90.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Top 1% Next 4% Next 5% Next 10% Top 20% 2nd 20% 3rd 20% Bottom40%
Per
cent
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Figure 9. The Distribution of Various Resources, by Quintiles
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest
Consumer unitconsumption, 1999
Household earnings,1998
Household income,1998
Household wealth,1998
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Figure 10. Share of Household Income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Poorest20%
Middle 20% Richest20%
Per
cen
t
Egalitarian Free market After taxes & transfers Just?
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Figure 11. Persons in Jail and Prison 1980-2004
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004
Year
Nu
mb
er
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Figure 12. How a 30 Percent Payroll Tax Can Reduce Work Effort
$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
05001,0001,5002,0002,500
Hours of work
Inco
me
afte
r ta
x
Income $10/hour
Income after tax
Utility curve 1
Utility curve 2
After: 1,750 hours, $12,500/year
Before: 2,000 hours, $20,000/year
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Table 2. Top 5 Income Tax Expenditures, 2008 (millions of dollars)
Provision Revenue Effect
Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and medical care
$160,190
Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied homes
89,430
Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment
64,670
Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore, and coal)
51,960
Employer plans 48,480
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Fig. 13. Percentage Composition of Federal Receipts by Source: 1940-2005
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
Per
cent
Individual Income Tax
Corporation Tax
Social Insurance
Excise Taxes
Other
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Figure 14. Income Tax Rates, Single Parent with Two Children and Earned Income Only, 2006
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Earned income
Tax
rate
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Figure 15. Social Security Tax Rates on Earned Income, 2006
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Earned income
Tax
rat
e
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Figure 16. U.S. Payroll Tax Rates: Selected Years
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1940 1960 1980 2006
Year
Perc
ent p
aid
join
tly b
y em
ploy
ee a
nd e
mpl
oyer
Medicare
Social Security
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Figure 17. Actual Tax Rate on Single Parents with Earned Income Only, 2006
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Earned income
Eff
ecti
ve t
ax r
ate
Effective tax rate Linear trend line
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35.9%
58.8%
88.6%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Tax Plus FoodStamps &
Health
Plus TANF,Housing,
Child Care
Figure 18. Average Cumulative Tax Rates Confronting Low-to-Moderate-Income
Families ($10k - $40k)
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Earned income
Tax
rat
e
Figure 19. Rates in a Comprehensive Tax and Transfer System
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$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000
Earned income
Cre
dit A
mou
nt t
$2,000 per worker credit $2,000 per worker credit with phase-out
Figure 20. $2,000 per Worker Earned Income Credit, with or without a Phase-out
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Figure 21. How a Simple 50 Percent Earnings Subsidy Can Increase Work Effort
$0
$2,500
$5,000
$7,500
$10,000
$12,500
$15,000
$17,500
$20,000
05001,0001,5002,0002,500
Hours of work
Pos
t-tr
ansf
er I
ncom
e
Income $5/hour
Income after transfer
Utility curve 1
Utility curve 2
After: 1,750 hours, $13,125/year
Before:
1,500 hours,$7,500/year
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Pre-transfer Earnings
plus Universal
Grants
plus Worker Credit
less TaxImposed
Equals After-tax
Income
0 $6,000 0 0 $6,000
$5,000 $6,000 $1,000 $1,000 $11,000
$10,000 $6,000 $2,000 $2,000 $16,000
$20,000 $6,000 $2,000 $4,000 $24,000
$30,000 $6,000 $2,000 $6,000 $32,000
$40,000 $6,000 $2,000 $8,000 $40,000
$50,000 $6,000 $2,000 $10,000 $48,000
$100,000 $6,000 $2,000 $27,500 $80,500
$150,000 $6,000 $2,000 $45,000 $113,000
$200,000 $6,000 $2,000 $62,500 $145,500
Table 3. How a Comprehensive Tax and Transfer System Would Affect a Single Parent with Two Children
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Figure 22. How a Comprehensive Tax and Transfer System Would Affect Single Parents
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Earnings
Pos
t-ta
x, p
ost-
tran
sfer
inco
me
Pre-transfer earnings
Post-tax, post transferincome
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$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year
Earn
ings
Poverty level,family of three
Poverty level,family of four
Annual minimumwage earnings
Figure 23. Minimum-Wage Earnings versus Poverty Levels, 1960-2006
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Figure 24. Life Expectancies at Birth versus Social Security Retirement Age
4045505560657075808590
1900 1940 1980 2020 2060
Year of birth
Age
Life expectancy at birth, males
Life expectancy at birth, females
Full retirement age for people born that year
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Figure 25. Labor Force Participation of Men Age 55 and Older, 1950-2004
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
Pa
rti
cip
ati
on
ra
te
Men age 55 and over
Men age 65 and over
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Figure 26. Hypothetical Accumulations – 2005 Dollars
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Figure 27. Hypothetical Accumulations - % of Final Wage
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Summary—Making America Work
• Government should intervene– To encourage work– Promote economic justice
• Tax, spending, and regulatory proposals– Increase the size of the economic pie– Allow us to divide it more equally