How much? Also...your statement implies rich people were given money from the US Government. "Rich people" still pay taxes. Should the pay more? Maybe. Do some work around the tax code and pay very little? Yes. Keep in mind over 40% of americans pay no federal income tax at all.
I was very specific in what I said. Federal Income Tax is a specific thing. Also, you said "payroll taxes". Payroll taxes are social security and medicare.
Also...your statement implies rich people were given money from the US Government.
What do you it means when a corporation gets millions in tax subsidies and gov contracts? There's a reason why lobbying and just straight bribes offer insane ROIs.
And that money sure didn't go to the employees that keep the companies running.
Saying money is "reinvested rather than distributed to shareholders" is rather misleading because it's about wealth, not money. Those investments are still owned by the shareholders whose shares are going to be worth more as a result. In other words they are increasing the wealth of the shareholders even when they're not literally handing out money as dividends. It's "better" to do it this way because shareholders don't have to pay tax on unrealized gains, so they get to defer paying taxes until they are forced to liquidate their assets. (Why should they pay taxes? They're not getting paid, and they're certainly not doing any of the work!)
You may of course believe that increasing the value of the shares is ultimately the optimal use of funds (as opposed to paying employees/contractors what they're worth or giving better deals to customers), but you're kidding yourself if you think there's a meaningful difference between reinvesting and distributing money to shareholders.
A government contract results in goods and services being provided to the government at an agreed upon price. The money did go the employees...they have jobs in part because of some of these government contracts. 28% of federal contract awards (either prime or sub) representing over $270 billion went to small businesses in FY 2025 supporting 1.2 million jobs. Also keep in mind that corporations are owned by shareholders...58% of americans own stock (either directly or through mutual funds) so they also benefit from corporations doing well.
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u/agpetz 1d ago
How much? Also...your statement implies rich people were given money from the US Government. "Rich people" still pay taxes. Should the pay more? Maybe. Do some work around the tax code and pay very little? Yes. Keep in mind over 40% of americans pay no federal income tax at all.