Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley has taken a bold step to discuss reversing the most horrendous swindle in U.S. history: “trickle down” economics. “Just let us make unfathomable amounts of money,” the shell game goes, “and you will all benefit”. The first part has worked marvelously for the super-wealthy. The second part? Still holding our breath.
Pinsley started the conversation with his report titled “Lehigh County Wealth Analysis.” He requested an examination of the plan, calling for officials to perform “due diligence” to vet the idea. Naysayers were out in force at a recent hearing on the plan. It got heated. But weaving past the distortions and half-truths of some detractors, the essential question surfaced: should those with little wealth pay increased taxes? Or should those with plenty kick in more to avert a looming revenue shortfall?
Should we tax the family possessing a home in Jordan Heights, Allentown, worth $150,000, owned by folks earning wages insufficient to survive and thrive? Or should families with wealth in stocks, north of — pick a number — $500,000, $1 million, $2 million, or more — pay just .004% of that wealth?
Opponents of Pinsley’s report complained: “I worked hard to get what I got” or “I sacrificed to get where I am.” I don’t doubt that. But so does that family in Jordan Heights.This discussion implicates poverty and affordability, both of which are growing worse by the day. The face of poverty is a child, and so the question gets reframed: do we tax poor children such as those who live in Jordan Heights, which has a greater percentage of children living in poverty (65.5%) than found in 98.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods?
Here’s the bitter truth. Pinsley’s idea takes a step in the direction of what must happen in this nation: massive redistribution of wealth. “Whoa,” I hear the screams: “He’s a socialist! We don’t do redistribution of wealth!”
Oh, yes we do. Big time. Nearly $80 trillion in wealth in the U.S. has been redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1% over the past 50 years, according to a report from the nonprofit RAND organization.
This redistribution of wealth occurred by elimination of progressive taxation; through tolerance of monopoly; by destruction of unions; with the purchase of our democracy; by control of media outlets; and by too many Americans tolerating this massive theft of wealth. Today this redistribution of wealth is on steroids, and will worsen with artificial intelligence. It’s coming rapidly for all of us. It’s growing exponentially. In 2019, national wealth was calculated collectively at $98 trillion. Six years later total national wealth ballooned to $184 trillion.
So where did the $86 trillion increase in national wealth go? Not to the bottom 50%, whose wealth increased by only $2 trillion. Not to the bottom 70%, whose collective wealth increased only by about $8 trillion. Most of the massive increase of national wealth went to the country’s 977 billionaires, their total wealth rising to $9.2 trillion, according to Americans For Tax Fairness. In that same six-year period the top 1% wealthiest Americans financial worth grew 62%, from $34 trillion in 2019 to $55 trillion in 2026. The top .1% richest in the country — just 132,000 households — saw their wealth increase from $12 trillion in 2019 to $25 trillion in 2026. This relative handful of families now possess over six times the wealth of the bottom 50%, 68 million households, who hold a paltry $4.3 trillion.
We continue on an orgy of greed that destroys the hopes and dreams of 41 million children living in poverty per the United Way’s Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed standard. This is the abomination we tolerate in America, the super-rich gorging themselves amidst starving children. Is that the kind of nation we want?
As Pinsley reports, Lehigh County citizens hold over $5 trillion in net worth. Extrapolating from the national statistics, this means that the top 1% of Lehigh County citizens possess 31.6% of that $5 trillion, or $1.58 trillion. Meanwhile, the bottom 50%, likely to have all of their meager wealth in their homes, possess a mere 2.5% of our wealth, locally translating to just $125 billion. So the moral question emerges: should we tax the pennies of the many or the fortunes of the few to fund the county?
Locally and nationally it will soon come to redistribution or revolution. There I’ve said it. Or, beginning with the significant step of Pinsley’s courageous idea, perhaps we find a peaceful path back from the wealth inequality that is dangerously out of control — back from the despicable greed devastating our nation and its people.
This is a contributed opinion column. Ettore Angelo is a criminal defense attorney in the Lehigh Valley. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.