United States: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 222:

The United States and the Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the [[Cold War]], dominating the military affairs of Europe through [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]], respectively. While they engaged in [[proxy war]]s and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. The U.S. often opposed [[Third World]] left-wing movements that it viewed as Soviet-sponsored. American troops fought [[Communist]] [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese]] and [[North Korea]]n forces in the [[Korean War]] of 1950–53. The [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] became the figurehead of [[McCarthyism|anticommunist sentiment]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gladchuk |first=John Joseph |title=Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950 |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |isbn=0-415-95568-8}}</ref>

The 1961 Soviet launch of the [[Vostok 1|first manned spaceflight]] prompted President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s call for the United States to be first to land [[Apollo program|"a man on the moon"]], achieved in 1969.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Collins (astronaut) |title=Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |year=1988}}</ref> Kennedy also faced a [[Cuban missile crisis|tense nuclear showdown]] with Soviet forces in Cuba.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2003 |title=Averting the Final Failure: John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings |series=Stanford Nuclear Age Series |last=Stern |first=Sheldon M}}</ref> Meanwhile, the United States experienced sustained economic expansion. Amidst the presence of various [[white nationalist]] groups, particularly the [[Ku Klux Klan]], [[White Citizens' Council]] and [[Aryan Nations]], a growing [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)|civil rights movement]] used [[nonviolence]] to confront segregation and discrimination. This was symbolized and led by black Americans such as [[Rosa Parks]] and [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] On the other hand, some [[black nationalist]] groups such as the [[Black Panther Party]] and [[Malcolm X]] had a more militant scope.

Following [[Kennedy's assassination]] in 1963, the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], and [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]] were passed under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Dallek |first= Robert |year=2004 |title=Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President |page=169 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-515920-2}}<br />{{cite web |url= http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=97 |title=Our Documents&nbsp;– Civil Rights Act (1964) |publisher=United States Department of Justice |accessdate=July 28, 2010}}<br />{{cite web | url = http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/651003.asp | title = Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill, Liberty Island, New York | date = October 3, 1965 | accessdate = January 1, 2012}}</ref> He also signed into law the [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] and [[Medicaid]] programs.<ref>[http://www.ssa.gov/history/lbjsm.html Social Security History], the United States [[Social Security Administration]]</ref> Johnson also expanded a proxy war in Southeast Asia into the ultimately unsuccessful [[Vietnam War]]. A widespread [[counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural movement]] grew, fueled by [[Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War|opposition to the war]], [[black nationalism]], and the [[sexual revolution]]. [[Betty Friedan]], [[Gloria Steinem]], and others led a [[Feminism in the United States|new wave of feminism]] that sought political, social, and economic equality for women.

Line 455:

The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for three sovereign nations through [[Compact of Free Association]] with [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]], the [[Marshall Islands]] and [[Palau]], all of which are Pacific island nations which were part of the U.S.-administered [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]] beginning after [[World War II]], and gained independence in subsequent years.

===Government finance===

[[File:Total Effective Tax Rates 2011.jpg|thumb|[[Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy|ITEP]] estimate of the total effective tax rate for federal, state and local taxes (personal and corporate income, payroll, property, sales, excise, estate, etc.) by income level in 2011.<ref name=CTJ>{{cite web |title=Who Pays Taxes in America? |url= http://www.ctj.org/pdf/taxday2012.pdf |publisher= Citizens for Tax Justice|date=April 12, 2012}}</ref>]]

{{See also|Taxation in the United States|United States federal budget}}

[[Taxation in the United States|Taxes are levied in the United States]] at the federal, state and local government level. These include taxes on income, payroll, property, sales, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2010 taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of [[GDP]].<ref>{{cite news |author= Porter, Eduardo |title= America's Aversion to Taxes |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/business/economy/slipping-behind-because-of-an-aversion-to-taxes.html?_r=1&src=recg |quote=In 1965, taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.7 percent of the nation's output. In 2010, they amounted to 24.8 percent. Excluding Chile and Mexico, the United States raises less tax revenue, as a share of the economy, than every other industrial country. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 14, 2012 |accessdate=August 15, 2012}}</ref> During FY2012, the federal government collected approximately $2.45 trillion in tax revenue, up $147 billion or 6% versus FY2011 revenues of $2.30 trillion. Primary receipt categories included individual income taxes ($1,132B or 47%), Social Security/Social Insurance taxes ($845B or 35%), and corporate taxes ($242B or 10%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY"/>

U.S. taxation is generally [[Progressive tax|progressive]], especially the federal income taxes, and is among the most progressive in the developed world,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Prasad |first=M. |coauthors=Deng, Y. |title=Taxation and the worlds of welfare |journal= Socio-Economic Review |date=April 2, 2009 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=431–457 |doi= 10.1093/ser/mwp005 |url= http://ser.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/3/431.abstract?keytype=ref&ijkey=65cyoW8oR1QgGoI |accessdate=May 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Crook |first=Clive |title=U.S. Taxes Really Are Unusually Progressive |url= http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/us-taxes-really-are-unusually-progressive/252917/ |date=February 10, 2012 |work=The Atlantic |location= Washington DC |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Dylan47>{{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |title=Other countries don't have a "47%" |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/19/other-countries-dont-have-a-47/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=October 29, 2013 |date=September 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Much Do People Pay in Federal Taxes?|url= http://www.pgpf.org/Issues/Taxes/2012/04/041612-tax-rate-explainer.aspx |publisher=Peter G. Peterson Foundation |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref><ref name="CBO, Distribution" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Table T12-0178 Baseline Distribution of Cash Income and Federal Taxes Under Current Law |url= http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/Content/PDF/T12-0178.pdf |publisher=The Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 29, 2013}}</ref> but the [[tax incidence|incidence]] of [[corporate tax in the United States|corporate income tax]] has been a matter of considerable ongoing controversy for decades.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Benjamin H. |date= November 2009 |title=Corporate Tax Incidence and Its Implications for Progressivity |url= http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001349_corporate_tax_incidence.pdf |publisher=Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gentry |first=William M. |date=December 2007 |title=A Review of the Evidence on the Incidence of the Corporate Income Tax |url= http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/ota101.pdf |work=OTA Paper 101 |publisher=Office of Tax Analysis, US Department of the Treasury |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Fullerton |first=Don |title=Handbook of Public Economics |year=2002 |publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. |location=Amsterdam |pages=1788–1839 |url= http://works.bepress.com/don_fullerton/15/ |coauthors= Metcalf, Gilbert E. |editor=A.J. Auerbach and M. Feldstein|accessdate=October 9, 2013|chapter=Tax Incidence}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Musgrave |first=R.A. |coauthors=Carroll, J.J.; Cook, L.D.; Frane, L. |title= Distribution of Tax Payments by Income Groups: A Case Study for 1948 |journal= National Tax Journal |date=March 1951 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–53 |url= http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/docs/historical/eccles/026_13_0001.pdf |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref> In 2009 the top 10% of earners, with 36% of the nation's income, paid 78.2% of the federal personal income tax burden, while the bottom 40% had a negative liability.<ref name="CBO, Distribution">{{cite web |title=The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2008 and 2009 |url= http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43373-06-11-HouseholdIncomeandFedTaxes.pdf |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |publisher= Congressional Budget Office |month=July |year=2012}}</ref> However, payroll taxes for Social Security are a flat [[regressive tax]], with no tax charged on income above $113,700 and no tax at all paid on [[unearned income]] from things such as stocks and capital gains.<ref>{{cite web |last=Agadoni |first=Laura |title= Characteristics of a Regressive Tax |url= http://smallbusiness.chron.com/characteristics-regressive-tax-17562.html |publisher =Houston Chronicle Small Business blog}}</ref><ref>[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/Payroll-Taxes.cfm TPC Tax Topics | Payroll Taxes]</ref> The historic reasoning for the regressive nature of the payroll tax is that entitlement programs have not been viewed as welfare transfers.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Design of the Original Social Security Act |url= http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/genrev.html |work=Social Security Online |publisher=U.S. Social Security Administration |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Blahous |first=Charles |title=The Dark Side of the Payroll Tax Cut |url= http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/109216 |work=Defining Ideas |publisher= Hoover Institution |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> The top 10% paid 51.8% of total federal taxes in 2009, and the top 1%, with 13.4% of pre-tax national income, paid 22.3% of federal taxes.<ref name="CBO, Distribution" /> In 2013 the Tax Policy Center projected total federal effective tax rates of 35.5% for the top 1%, 27.2% for the top quintile, 13.8% for the middle quintile, and −2.7% for the bottom quintile.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stephen |first=Ohlemacher |title=Tax bills for rich families approach 30-year high |url= http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475301_apustaxingtherich.html|accessdate=April 3, 2013|newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |date=March 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Who will pay what in 2013 taxes? |url= http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475325_apustaxeswhopayswhat.html |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |date=March 3, 2013}}</ref> State and local taxes vary widely, but are generally less progressive than federal taxes as they rely heavily on broadly borne [[Regressive tax|regressive]] sales and property taxes that yield less volatile revenue streams, though their consideration does not eliminate the progressive nature of overall taxation.<ref name="Dylan47" /><ref name="TaxF">{{cite web |last=Malm |first=Elizabeth |title=Comments on Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States |url= http://taxfoundation.org/article/comments-who-pays-distributional-analysis-tax-systems-all-50-states |publisher=Tax Foundation|accessdate=April 3, 2013|date=February 20, 2013}}</ref>

During FY 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis, down $60 billion or 1.7% vs. FY 2011 spending of $3.60 trillion. Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY">{{cite web |url= http://cbo.gov/publication/43904 |title=CBO Historical Tables-February 2013 |publisher=Congressional Budget Office |date=February 5, 2013 |accessdate=April 23, 2013}}</ref>

Line 545 ⟶ 547:

Americans have the highest average [[Household income|household]] and [[List of countries by average wage|employee]] income among OECD nations, and in 2007 had the second highest [[median household income]].<ref name="Household Income" /><ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web |title=OECD Better Life Index |url= http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111 |publisher=OECD |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> According to the Census Bureau real median household income was $50,502 in 2011, down from $51,144 in 2010.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-02.pdf "Household Income for States: 2010 and 2011"] ''United States Census, American Community Survey Briefs'', September 2012, Appendix Table 1, p. 5</ref> The Global Food Security Index ranked the U.S. number one for food affordability and overall food security in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Food Security Index |url= http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Country/Details#United%20States |publisher=The Economist Intelligence Unit |location= London |accessdate=April 8, 2013|date=March 5, 2013}}</ref> Americans on average have over twice as much living space per dwelling and per person as [[European Union]] residents, and more than every EU nation.<ref name="Heritage Poor">{{cite web |title= Understanding Poverty in the United States: Surprising Facts About America's Poor |url= http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/09/understanding-poverty-in-the-united-states-surprising-facts-about-americas-poor |publisher=Heritage Foundation|accessdate=April 8, 2013 |author=Rector, Robert |coauthor=Sheffield, Rachel |date=September 13, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Inequality-by-Kenworthy.png|thumb|Changes in real US incomes for the top 1%, middle 60%, and bottom 20% from 1979 through 2007.<ref>Kenworthy, L. (August 20, 2010) [http://lanekenworthy.net/2010/07/20/the-best-inequality-graph-updated/ "The best inequality graph, updated"] ''Consider the Evidence''</ref>]]

[[File:Productivity and Real Median Family Income Growth 1947-2009.png|thumb|left|250px|Productivity and Real Median Family Income Growth 1947–2009.]]

The U.S. economy is currently embroiled in the economic downturn which followed the [[financial crisis of 2007–2008]], with output still below potential according to the [[Congressional Budget Office|CBO]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252 |title=Chart Book: The Legacy of the Great Recession — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |publisher=Cbpp.org |date=March 12, 2013 |accessdate=March 27, 2013}}</ref> and unemployment still above historic trends.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 |title=Bureau of Labor Statistics Data |publisher=Data.bls.gov |date=December 1, 2010 |accessdate=March 27, 2013}}</ref> From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the [[G7]].<ref name=Hagopian>{{cite journal |author=Hagopian, Kip |coauthor=Ohanian, Lee |title= The Mismeasure of Inequality |journal=Policy Review|date=August 1, 2012 |url= http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |accessdate=August 22, 2013 |publisher=Hoover Institution Stanford University}}</ref> In 2013 the [[United Nations Development Programme]] ranked the United States 16th among 132 countries on its [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|inequality-adjusted human development index]] (IHDI), 13 places lower than in the standard [[Human Development Index|HDI]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2013_EN_complete.pdf |title=2013 Human Development Report |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |accessdate=July 28, 2013}}</ref> Four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives.<ref>Yen, Hope (28 July 2013). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/poverty-unemployment-rates_n_3666594.html 80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey]. ''[[The Huffington Post]].'' Retrieved July 28, 2013.</ref>

In February 2013, the [[unemployment]] rate was 7.7%, or 12.0 million people, while the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes the part-time [[underemployment|underemployed]], was 14.3%, or 22.2 million. With a record proportion of [[long-term unemployment|long-term unemployed]], continued decreasing [[Household income in the United States|household income]], tax rises, and new [[Sequester (2013)|federal budget cuts]], the U.S. economy remained in a [[jobless recovery]].<ref name=SchwartzJobless>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Nelson |title=Recovery in U.S. Is Lifting Profits, but Not Adding Jobs |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/business/economy/corporate-profits-soar-as-worker-income-limps.html?pagewanted=all |accessdate=March 18, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McKinnon |first=John D. |title=Analysis: 77% of Households to See Tax Increase |url= http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/01/01/tax-bill-analysis-77-of-households-to-see-tax-increase/ |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal (blog) |date=January 1, 2013 |location =New York}}</ref> Nearly half of U.S. households are considered "low-income" by the U.S. census (earning $45,000 or less per year for a family of four).<ref>{{cite news |work=The Huffington Post |date= December 15, 2011 |title=U.S. Poverty: Census Finds Nearly Half Of Americans Are Poor Or Low-Income |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/census-shows-1-in-2-peopl_1_n_1150128.html |accessdate=June 5, 2013}}</ref> The rise in the share of total annual income received by the top 1 percent, which has more than doubled from 9 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011, has had a significant impact on income inequality,<ref name="PikettySaez">Alvaredo, Facundo; [[Anthony B. Atkinson|Atkinson, Anthony B.]]; [[Thomas Piketty|Piketty, Thomas]]; [[Emmanuel Saez|Saez, Emmanuel]] (2013). [http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.27.3.3 "The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective"]. ''Journal of Economic Perspectives.'' Retrieved August 16, 2013.</ref> leaving the United States with one of the widest income distributions among OECD nations.<ref name="Sme">{{cite journal |last1= Smeeding |first1= T.M. |year=2005 |title= Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective| journal= Social Science Quarterly |volume=86 |pages=955–983 |doi= 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x}}</ref><ref name="Saez">{{cite web |url= http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2005prel.xls |author=Saez, E. |title=Table A1: Top Fractiles Income Shares (Excluding Capital Gains) in the U.S., 1913–2005 |publisher=UC Berkeley |month=October |year=2007 |accessdate=July 24, 2008}}{{cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html |title=Field Listing—Distribution of Family Income—Gini Index |publisher=CIA |work=The World Factbook |date=June 14, 2007 |accessdate=June 17, 2007}}</ref> The post-recession income gains have been very uneven, with the top 1 percent capturing 95 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2012.<ref>[[Emmanuel Saez|Saez, Emmanuel]] (September 3, 2013). [http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2012.pdf "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States"]. ''[[UC Berkley]].'' Retrieved September 11, 2013.</ref>

[[File:SouthProductivity Sanand JoseReal (crop)Median Family Income Growth 1947-2009.jpgpng|thumb|rightleft|250px|AProductivity [[tractand housing]]Real developmentMedian inFamily [[SanIncome Jose,Growth California]]1947–2009.]]

There has been a widening gap between productivity and median incomes since the 1970s.<ref>Mishel, Lawrence (April 26, 2012). [http://www.epi.org/publication/ib330-productivity-vs-compensation/ The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth]. ''[[Economic Policy Institute]].'' Retrieved October 18, 2013.</ref> While [[inflation]]-adjusted ("real") [[Household income in the United States|household income]] had been increasing almost every year from 1947 to 1999, it has since been flat and even decreased recently.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/04/the-most-important-chart-in-american-politics/ |title= The Most Important Chart in American Politics |newspaper=Time |location =New York |date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> Poverty in the U.S. has been increasing as median incomes have declined, having now fallen for five consecutive years.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Gongloff, Mark |date=September 17, 2013 |title= Median Income Falls For 5th Year, Inequality At Record High |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/median-income-falls-inequality_n_3941514.html |newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]] |accessdate=October 4, 2013}}</ref> There were about 643,000 sheltered and unsheltered [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless persons in the U.S.]] in January 2009. Almost two-thirds stayed in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program and the other third were living on the street, in an abandoned building, or another place not meant for human habitation. In 2011 16.7 million children lived in [[Famine scales#Combined intensity and magnitude scales|food-insecure]] households, about 35% more than 2007 levels, though only 1.1% of U.S. children, or 845,000, saw reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns at some point during the year, and most cases weren't chronic.<ref>{{cite web |title= Household Food Security in the United States in 2011 |url= http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf |publisher=USDA |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |month=September |year=2012}}</ref>