Wage Enslavement: How the Tax System Holds Back Historically Disadvantaged Groups of Americans

Abstract

Despite the importance placed on equality of opportunity within United States political culture, the existing tax system inhibits historically disadvantaged groups from building wealth or catching up with historically more privileged groups. This effectively then traps many members of historically disadvantaged groups into a continued cycle of dependence on tax-disfavored wage and salary income, a phenomenon that we metaphorically label as “wage enslavement.” This Article explains this phenomenon and then calls for reform.

Keywords: Wage Enslavement, Income, Wealth, Tax Reform, Racial Wealth Gap, Wealth Tax

JEL Classification: K34