Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is Singlehandedly Shifting the Overton Window

[Honeycombe8]

86. I didn't say "paid." I said the tax rate used to be 90%. Indeed it was. Over 90%, actually.

https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-historical-table-23

Some upper brackets have been as follows (the lower bracket changes, too, and the levels of income that apply to the brackets changes). The exemptions and deductions change, too.

1944- 23% lower bracket to 94% upper
1950s - 91% to 92%
1964 - Lowered from 91% to 77%
1965 - Lowered fr 77% to 70%
1968- 75.25%
1969- 77%
1970- 71.75%
1970s- 70%
and so on.

So Democrats have been effective in working on a more fair tax system. My post was in response to criticism that the Democrats in Congress have been ineffectual up to now, and pointed out the unfair top tax rate. I pointed out that, as recently happened, the Democrats when not in power can do only so much. But they have done much over the years, when in power...and done as much as they could to stop the opposition from doing worse at times. Example: The Dems in the House just passed a bill to reopen the govt, but McConnell in the Senate has stopped it. There's nothing the Senate Democrats can do about that.

It is not a Republican talking point to point out that the Democrats have passed legislation in the past to make the tax system more fair for ordinary Americans. But when the opposition gets into power, they work to undo what the Democrats did. And when the Democrats get into power, they work to undo what the Republicans did. That's the way it tends to work.

There is a spreadsheet to download on that IRS page. Most notable is the taxable income range changes along with the upper tax rate. The spreadsheet is through 2015.