Your black table of income levels and taxes paid has something wrong with it. I looked at the Tax Foundation link you provide, and it says something rather different from what you report.
Here is how I read their numbers compared to yours
Top 5%: 23.3% rate vs. your 18.9%
Top 10%: 21.5% rate vs. your 14.3%
Top 25%: 18.4% rate vs. your 10.3%
Top 50%: 16.2% rate vs. your 7.2%
I also note that your row for School Teachers has the same bracket as truck drivers and police officers, but the rate for teachers is from the next bracket up.
I think you’re looking at the wrong numbers. For example, their 23.3% for the top 5% INCLUDES the top 1%, which skews the averages precisely because of the power laws at play.
The have another table further down where they break this out:
Your black table of income levels and taxes paid has something wrong with it. I looked at the Tax Foundation link you provide, and it says something rather different from what you report.
Here is how I read their numbers compared to yours
Top 5%: 23.3% rate vs. your 18.9%
Top 10%: 21.5% rate vs. your 14.3%
Top 25%: 18.4% rate vs. your 10.3%
Top 50%: 16.2% rate vs. your 7.2%
I also note that your row for School Teachers has the same bracket as truck drivers and police officers, but the rate for teachers is from the next bracket up.
Hey @NeroWolfe.
I think you’re looking at the wrong numbers. For example, their 23.3% for the top 5% INCLUDES the top 1%, which skews the averages precisely because of the power laws at play.
The have another table further down where they break this out: