"What you say is true; but you have to re-read what you seem to have missed when your teacher talked about MARGINAL TAX RATES. This is how rich people escape taxation and let all the poor people pick up the tab. Best,"
Fantastic, let's talk about marginal vs. effective tax rates.
"But, as we said, the top 1% on average pays a higher effective federal tax rate than middle-income earners. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the top 1% " those making over $783,300 ($2.4 million on average) " will pay about an average federal tax rate of 30.2% in 2019. That's a higher rate than any other income category below it.
But those in the middle 20% of earners " with an expanded cash income of $50,001 to $87,300 " will pay an average federal tax rate of 12.4%, according to the Tax Policy Center analysis. That's less than half the effective tax rate paid by the top 1%."
www.factcheck.org
That's the thing about marginal rates. High or low, the effective rate really depends on what I can deduct. And having a high marginal tax rate with many allowable deductions is preferable for many to a lower rate with fewer deductions. Which is why TRA 86 was fought against tooth and nail by wealthy households.
And I think that you and Biden were referencing comments made by professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman on effective tax rates. That data has since been invalidated. Given that both come from a very, very biased place within the economic community, you'd want to fact check them. Someone did.
www.aier.org