You have to be actually wealthy for most "loopholes" come into play. Just like today, non-wealthy high earners take the biggest hit in taxes. And there are way more of those than actually wealthy people. Back then, the hit was even bigger, but the group being hit the hardest was smaller.
Politically, this setup seems to help keep those high-earners voting for lower taxes, which makes sense to them since they're the ones paying the highest overall rate.
You did have to be wealthy, but $100,000 in 1980 is equivalent to $383,000 today which is pretty wealthy. So it’s basically income above $400,000 today.
And many of the tax “loopholes” involved real estate investment which would be accessible at that income level.
$380k is not wealthy. Most people can live just fine on $380k, don’t get me wrong, but it is basically upper middle class. If $380k/yr is wealthy then what is $20 million/yr?
I think you should not be redefining what words mean to make your argument.
Wealthy means to have wealth. Wealth is the abundance of financial assets. Income can become wealth if saved/invested, but it is not wealth.
There are numerous definitions of middle class, with many being "not upper, not lower". Upper class is defined as those that have the most wealth (explicitly not income) and political power.
$People with 380k of income, but without significant assets are not upper class. They would be considered upper middle class.
They should, but but it is not guaranteed. There is also a long way between having more wealth than most, and becoming upper class where you can live "comfortably" entirely off the earnings of your wealth.
My previous comment seemed to have touched a nerve with some people, which strange given that I (IMO) was politely providing commonly accepted definitions of words/terms, with supporting references. I guess people do not like the actual meanings of the words. Or perhaps I sounded like an condescending asshole :shrug:
Politically, this setup seems to help keep those high-earners voting for lower taxes, which makes sense to them since they're the ones paying the highest overall rate.