Table of Contents
What was the distribution of wealth in the US leading up to the Great Depression?
In 1929 — before Wall Street’s crash unleashed the Great Depression — the top 0.1\% richest adults’ share of total household wealth was close to 25\%, according to Zucman’s paper, which was distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
How was income divided between the wealthy and the poor in this country in the 1920s?
During the 1920s, there was a pronounced shift in wealth and income toward the very rich. Between 1919 and 1929, the share of income received by the wealthiest one percent of Americans rose from 12 percent to 19 percent, while the share received by the richest five percent jumped from 24 percent to 34 percent.
How did unequal distribution of wealth lead to the Great Depression?
The Great Depression was partly caused by the great inequality between the rich who accounted for a third of all wealth and the poor who had no savings at all. As the economy worsened many lost their fortunes, and some members of high society were forced to curb their extravagant lifestyles.
How did World War II affect the middle class?
World War II more or less created the middle class. And the baby boom that followed, aided by the GI bill which allowed soldiers to buy their first home and get a college education, ensured the middle-class way of life had a strong foundation. The economy went from a focus on military spending to a focus on consumer spending.
Why did the 1942 tax structure stick around after World War II?
That patriotism—the moral imperative to at least sacrifice dollars while others sacrificed their lives—was enough to carry the Revenue Act through Congress, just as it had carried taxes like the temporary tax imposed during the Civil War. But after World War II, the 1942 tax structure stuck around.
What was the inheritance tax rate during WW1?
Most countries had some sort of inheritance tax, but rates were never above 15 percent. Among the countries that mass-mobilized for World War I, this changed dramatically with countries adopting top income tax rates that exceeded 70 percent during and immediately after the war.
Are You paying into a system created to fund World War II?
As you tally up your withholding and deductions, it may not help to know that you’re also paying into a system created to fund World War II. When the modern income tax was introduced in 1913, it was constructed as a tax merely on the very top earners and was essentially irrelevant to most Americans.