The other Awards Obama will will this year...

[kandrathe]

Now you are confusing the rich with people who work for a living.

The 10% mark is income over $113,018. Even the 5% mark at $160,041 is hardly wealthy if you live in a more cosmopolitan city. It seems pretty much upper middle class to me.

That's not even counting capital gains taxes, of which the filthy rich pay the vast majority, since they are the ones with the capital making the gains. Nor corporate taxes, which almost definitionally are not paid by Joe Middle Class.

The funny thing about capital gains is that any capital loss will offset them, and then you really only have to "pay" for gains once you sell something and then realize the gains without subsequently investing in something else. This is why stock options make for great bonuses, since the officers can sell them off slowly or gift them away once they are vested. It's kind of a big tax free bank account that will be taxed if you can't figure out a way to get around the taxes, but then again, there are plenty of vehicles for getting around the taxes. Ask Charley Wrangle.