Open Thread for Night Owls & Early Birds

According to calculations of the Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution:

Senator Barack Obama's tax plan would provide a rise in after-tax income of 5.4% for the bottom 20% of Americans in 2012. The top 1/10th of 1% of Americans would see a drop of 12.4%

Senator John McCain's tax plan would provide a 0.9% rise in after-tax income for the bottom 20% of Americans in 2012. The top 1/10 of 1% would see a rise of 11.6%.

Robert Gordon at The Wonk Room pointed out this table a few months ago:

^{Table data by Emmanuel Saez via The Wonk Room at Think Progress.}

Look at incomes for the top 1% of earners — the solid black triangles. You’ll see that in 2006, their share of the nation’s income (22.9%) reached its modern peak. The only year higher? 1928.

Another table shows that the top 10% in 2006 took a bigger share (49.7%) than at any point since 1917. The year 1928 was the runner-up.

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.
— Plutarch

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^{See BenGoshi's uplifting photo Diary of modern Hiroshima.}

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^{The Overnight News Digest is posted, including the story, South Africa unions stage mass strike.}