ECON 2304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Luxury Goods, Progressive Tax, Proportional Tax

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indigoarmadillo66

1 Nov 2016

School

University of Houston

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 2304

Professor

Yewande Olapade

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Document Summary

Introduction: lessons about taxes from earlier chapters. Tax on a good reduces the market quantity of that good. Burden of tax is shared between buyers and sellers. Look at taxation in us: how tax revenue as share of national income has changed over time, how us tax revenues compare to other countries. 25% of us gdp is tax: most important revenue sources for federal state and local government. Us tax revenue has increased slightly over time. Us tax revenue is lower that most 1st world countries. Us most important revenue source is tax of individual income: second is social insurance taxes. Income (largest), social insurance, corporate income: payroll tax tax on the wages that firm pays to workers. State and local revenue: sales, property, income, corporate income, federal gov. funds (collects. Transfer payment government payment not made in exchange for a good or service.

Related Questions

Learn more about Social Security and Medicare reform (to improve financial strength of the programs) or solvency through Internet exploration. Find an article or resource related to one of these topics. Attach the article and write a brief summary (300-400 words) of what you found. Summarize the Article.

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. Social Security reform: the clock is ticking

Clocks are seen during the performance "tck tck tck" by Global Campaign for Climate Action at the Barcelona Climate Change Talks, November 4, 2009. REUTERS/Albert Gea

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Can you count on your Social Security benefits when retirement rolls around?

Most Americans worry about this - partly due to the nonsense they hear from political opponents of Social Security and ill-informed media. You will hear that the program is bankrupt, its reserves are nothing but a bunch of IOUs, or that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.

All of those claims are false, but there is one good reason for concern. Social Security faces a long-term financial imbalance that would force sharp benefit cuts in 2034 unless the government makes changes. The problem stems from falling fertility rates and labor force growth - which reduces collection of payroll taxes that fund the system - and also from the retirement of baby boomers, which increases benefit costs.

Absent reform, Social Security could continue to pay roughly 75 percent of promised benefits. The cuts would mean that the typical 65-year-old worker could expect Social Security to replace 27 percent of pre-retirement income, down from 36 percent today, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

No surprise, then, that only 37 percent of workers are âvery or somewhat confidentâ that Social Security will be able to maintain current benefit levels in the future, according to survey research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) - although confidence is much higher among older workers and retirees.

From a math standpoint, potential solutions to the problem are straightforward. The cuts can be avoided through increased revenue, benefit reductions or some combination of the two. But the politics are another matter.

Republicans are far from holding a unified position on the issue. For example, U.S. Representative Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, has proposed legislation containing two significant benefit cuts: gradually raising full retirement ages to 69 by 2030, and using a less generous annual cost-of-living adjustment formula known as the chained CPI.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has so far held to his campaign promise of opposing cuts. He has suggested that economic growth will solve the problem by stimulating wage growth and payroll tax collections - a position most economists dismiss as unrealistic.

REPUBLICAN ENTHUSIASM LACKING

The last major Republican reform proposal dates back to the George W. Bush administration, which proposed shifting the program to personal savings accounts - an idea that aroused Republican passion but that went down in flames.

âThat was an idea that got people excited, but there hasnât been much enthusiasm for Social Security reform among Republicans since then,â said Andrew Biggs, resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Biggs worked on Social Security reform as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council.

Meanwhile, Democrats are in no mood to work with the Trump administration on anything that forces a compromise on their core values - and they have shifted significantly to the left on Social Security reform. Representative John Larson has introduced legislation that would not only restore trust fund balance but expand benefits. That is by far the best approach, since roughly half of all households have saved less than $25,000, according to EBRI. Larsonâs bill is cosponsored by more than 80 percent of the Democratic House caucus - more than any previous expansion bill.

The bill would increase benefits by 2 percent across the board, shift to a more generous annual cost-of-living adjustment that reflects spending by seniors and set a new minimum benefit at 25 percent above the poverty line. It also would cut taxes for millions of retirees by boosting significantly the threshold for taxation of benefits.

The plan raises revenue by gradually increasing the payroll tax rates that fund the program. The rate hikes would begin in 2019, and by 2042, workers and employers would pay 7.4 percent each, instead of the current 6.2 percent.

Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, also proposes changes to the payroll tax cap for very wealthy beneficiaries. Currently, payroll tax is collected only on wages up to $127,200; the plan would start collecting taxes again on wages above $400,000. That exempts more income than many earlier expansion plans, which either removed the cap entirely or resumed taxation at $250,000.

The payroll tax cap feature played an important role in boosting support for expansion legislation, according to Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a progressive advocacy group that supports the bill. âIt brought many of the more conservative Democratic legislators on board,â he said.

Of course, the Larson bill is going nowhere in the Republican-controlled Congress, so Social Security reform will not happen before the 2018 midterm elections at the earliest - and perhaps much later than that. But that does not mean beneficiaries should worry about draconian cuts in 2034.

Even if reform is not achieved by 2034, Biggs thinks the problem likely would be solved at the 11th hour through tax increases - simply because benefit cuts must be enacted and phased in over long periods to give beneficiaries time to adjust.

âIf they were going to do this by cutting benefits, it should have been enacted 20 years ago,â he said. âIf you want to do it by raising taxes you want to wait as long as possible, so that you get to the point where the only solution is to put more money into the program.â

But the uncertainty on Social Security policy will continue to undermine public confidence in the program - and that is worrying. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.

1. Which of the following groups of countries are all advanced economies?

		Hong Kong, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom
		Italy, the United States, China, and Russia
		Singapore, Russia, France, and Chad
		Australia, Brazil, and the United States

QUESTION 2

1. The most people live in ________ economies and the fewest people live in ________ economies.

		developing; emerging market
		advanced; emerging market
		emerging market; developing
		advanced; developing

QUESTION 3

1. Households and firms in the U.S. economy interact with those in the rest of the world in the ________ market and the ________ market.

		goods; financial
		government; goods
		goods; factor
		financial; factor

QUESTION 4

1. As a factor of production, oil reserves are counted as

		labor.
		capital.
		entrepreneurship.
		land.

QUESTION 5

1. ________ the owners of the factors of production, while ________ what amounts of those factors to hire.

		Households are; the government determines
		Firms are; households that determine
		The government is; firms determine
		Households are; firms that determine

QUESTION 6

1. The emerging market economies are

		the nations that are currently agricultural in nature.
		most of the nations of Western Europe.
		the largest grouping including the nations of China and India.
		in the transition from state-owned production to free markets.

QUESTION 7

1. In the United States, the productive factor that, as a group, receives the largest fraction of the nation's total income was

		consumption of goods and services.
		entrepreneurship.
		capital.
		labor.

QUESTION 8

1. Items bought by individuals to provide personal enjoyment are termed

		personal goods.
		consumption of goods.
		consumption or investment goods.
		standard goods.

QUESTION 9

1. In the advanced economies, ________ of the factories use advanced capital equipment and in the developing economies ________ of the factories use advanced capital equipment

		virtually all; none
		some; some
		virtually all; virtually all
		virtually all; some

QUESTION 10

1. The productive resource that includes all the "gifts of nature" is called

		land.
		labor.
		entrepreneurship.
		capital.

QUESTION 11

1. What would be an example of government good?

		Donald Trump purchases furniture for his office.
		Antonio, the manager of the local Taco Hut, purchases a new deep fryer.
		The local driver's license office purchases a new digital camera and printer.
		Jake buys an iPhone.

QUESTION 12

1. The world population is approximately ________ people.

		2 trillion
		680 million
		6.8 billion
		6.8 million

QUESTION 13

1. Computers and insurance coverage produced in the United States and sold to people in other nations are categorized as

		U.S. exports of goods and services.
		U.S. government goods and services.
		foreign capital goods.
		U.S. consumer goods and services.

QUESTION 14

1. Of the following, the federal government obtains most revenue from

		corporate income taxes.
		excise taxes.
		sales taxes.
		social security taxes.

QUESTION 15

1. Items bought by businesses to help produce other goods and services are called

		capital goods.
		government goods and services.
		consumption of goods and services.
		exports of goods and services.

QUESTION 16

1. The majority of the income earned in the United States is paid in

		profit.
		interest.
		rent.
		wages.

QUESTION 17

1. Dan missed class the day the professor covered the circular flow model. Dan asked his friend Joan to explain markets to him. Joan correctly stated that a market

		must include a written contract between buyers and sellers.
		requires a physical location for buyers and sellers to get together.
		is only a place to purchase groceries.
		is an arrangement that brings buyers and sellers together.

QUESTION 18

1. The United States possesses a large amount of human capital. As a result of this fact, in the United States, there is a

		highly skilled and educated labor force.
		a large number of kind and generous humans.
		a large number of people and a great deal of land.
		a large amount of machinery and equipment.

QUESTION 19

1. Which of the following correctly lists the categories of factors of production?

		labor, machines, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship
		land, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship
		land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship
		forests, fish, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship

QUESTION 20

1. Which of the following correctly lists the categories of factors of production?

		capital, money, and labor
		hardware, software, land, and money
		land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship
		machines, buildings, land, and money

QUESTION 21

1. In the United States, the poorest 20 percent of households receive roughly ________ percent of total income.

		10
		3
		15
		20

QUESTION 22

1. What would be an example of a consumption service?

		Jake buys an iPhone.
		The local driver's license office purchases a new digital camera and printer.
		Antonio, the manager of the local Taco Hut, purchases a new deep fryer.
		Rhianna gets a haircut.

QUESTION 23

1. The total value of capital in the United States is around

		$47 trillion.
		$10 trillion.
		$100 trillion.
		$79 trillion.

QUESTION 24

1. An export good is a good produced

		by foreigners in the United States and purchased by U.S. households.
		in another country and purchased by U.S. residents.
		in the United States and sold to foreigners living in the United States.
		in the United States and sold in other countries.

QUESTION 25

1. ________ paid for the use of land; ________ paid for the services of labor; and ________ paid for the use of capital.

		Interest is; wages are; profit is
		Rent is; wages are; interest is
		Rent is; interest is; wages are
		Mortgages are; interest is; wages are

fuchsiareindeer89

1. Which of the following groups of countries are all advanced economies?

		Hong Kong, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom
		Italy, the United States, China, and Russia
		Singapore, Russia, France, and Chad
		Australia, Brazil, and the United States

QUESTION 2

1. The most people live in ________ economies and the fewest people live in ________ economies.

		developing; emerging market
		advanced; emerging market
		emerging market; developing
		advanced; developing

QUESTION 3

1. Households and firms in the U.S. economy interact with those in the rest of the world in the ________ market and the ________ market.

		goods; financial
		government; goods
		goods; factor
		financial; factor

QUESTION 4

1. As a factor of production, oil reserves are counted as

		labor.
		capital.
		entrepreneurship.
		land.

QUESTION 5

1. ________ the owners of the factors of production, while ________ what amounts of those factors to hire.

		Households are; the government determines
		Firms are; households determine
		The government is; firms determine
		Households are; firms determine

QUESTION 6

1. The emerging market economies are

		the nations that are currently agricultural in nature.
		most of the nations of Western Europe.
		the largest grouping including the nations of China and India.
		in the transition from state-owned production to free markets.

QUESTION 7

1. In the United States, the productive factor that, as a group, receives the largest fraction of the nation's total income was

		consumption of goods and services.
		entrepreneurship.
		capital.
		labor.

QUESTION 8

1. Items bought by individuals to provide personal enjoyment are termed

		personal goods.
		consumption of goods.
		consumption or investment goods.
		standard goods.

QUESTION 9

1. In the advanced economies, ________ of the factories use advanced capital equipment and in the developing economies ________ of the factories use advanced capital equipment

		virtually all; none
		some; some
		virtually all; virtually all
		virtually all; some

QUESTION 10

1. The productive resource that includes all the "gifts of nature" is called

		land.
		labor.
		entrepreneurship.
		capital.

QUESTION 11

1. What would be an example of government good?

		Donald Trump purchases furniture for his office.
		Antonio, the manager of the local Taco Hut, purchases a new deep fryer.
		The local driver's license office purchases a new digital camera and printer.
		Jake buys an iPhone.

QUESTION 12

1. The world population is approximately ________ people.

		2 trillion
		680 million
		6.8 billion
		6.8 million

QUESTION 13

1. Computers and insurance coverage produced in the United States and sold to people in other nations are categorized as

		U.S. exports of goods and services.
		U.S. government goods and services.
		foreign capital goods.
		U.S. consumer goods and services.

QUESTION 14

1. Of the following, the federal government obtains most revenue from

		corporate income taxes.
		excise taxes.
		sales taxes.
		social security taxes.

QUESTION 15

1. Items bought by businesses to help produce other goods and services are called

		capital goods.
		government goods and services.
		consumption of goods and services.
		exports of goods and services.

QUESTION 16

1. The majority of the income earned in the United States is paid in

		profit.
		interest.
		rent.
		wages.

QUESTION 17

1. Dan missed class the day the professor covered the circular flow model. Dan asked his friend Joan to explain markets to him. Joan correctly stated that a market

		must include a written contract between buyers and sellers.
		requires a physical location for buyers and sellers to get together.
		is only a place to purchase groceries.
		is an arrangement that brings buyers and sellers together.

QUESTION 18

1. The United States possesses a large amount of human capital. As a result of this fact, in the United States, there is a

		highly skilled and educated labor force.
		a large number of kind and generous humans.
		a large number of people and a great deal of land.
		a large amount of machinery and equipment.

QUESTION 19

1. Which of the following correctly lists the categories of factors of production?

		labor, machines, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship
		land, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship
		land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship
		forests, fish, buildings, capital, and entrepreneurship

QUESTION 20

1. Which of the following correctly lists the categories of factors of production?

		capital, money, and labor
		hardware, software, land, and money
		land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship
		machines, buildings, land, and money

QUESTION 21

1. In the United States, the poorest 20 percent of households receive roughly ________ percent of total income.

		10
		3
		15
		20

QUESTION 22

1. What would be an example of a consumption service?

		Jake buys an iPhone.
		The local driver's license office purchases a new digital camera and printer.
		Antonio, the manager of the local Taco Hut, purchases a new deep fryer.
		Rhianna gets a haircut.

QUESTION 23

1. The total value of capital in the United States is around

		$47 trillion.
		$10 trillion.
		$100 trillion.
		$79 trillion.

QUESTION 24

1. An export good is a good produced

		by foreigners in the United States and purchased by U.S. households.
		in another country and purchased by U.S. residents.
		in the United States and sold to foreigners living in the United States.
		in the United States and sold in other countries.

QUESTION 25

1. ________ paid for the use of land; ________ paid for the services of labor; and ________ paid for the use of capital.

		Interest is; wages are; profit is
		Rent is; wages are; interest is
		Rent is; interest is; wages are
		Mortgages are; interest is; wages are

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ECON 2304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Luxury Goods, Progressive Tax, Proportional Tax

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