During election season, some politicians promise to create or expand government services while assuring voters that “taxing the rich” will cover the costs. These proposals are often framed around claims that wealthy taxpayers are not paying their “fair share,” and that higher rates or new wealth taxes could generate substantial new federal revenue. However, with the federal government currently spending $19.2 billion per day, even if the government was hypothetically able to tax the income of the wealthiest Americans at a 100% rate without imposing severe economic damage, that would only fund the government for 127 days. Completely confiscating the fortunes of the five richest billionaires would fund the government for little more than two months.
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