$X increase in taxable income creates $Y amount of new tax liability. Marginal rate = Y/X. when X = 1.

If his marginal rate never was above 100% at any point, how did his tax bill grow as large as his taxable income in the first place?

Unless, for some reason, the article was talking about his *total* taxes from all sources, including property tax, sales, tax, etc which are not a percentage of income. But I don’t see any indication that the article was using that measure.

Time for a new mathematical model, a new paradigm, for macroeconomics?

Is there a patterned science representing the time dependent evolution of macroeconomics?

The last paragraph of the Economic Fractalist main page http://www.economicfractalist.com/ ….

The ideal growth fractal time sequence is X, 2.5X, 2X and 1.5-1.6X. The first two cycles include a saturation transitional point and decay process in the terminal portion of the cycles. A sudden nonlinear drop in the last 0.5x time period of the 2.5X is the hallmark of a second cycle and characterizes this most recognizable cycle. After the nonlinear gap drop, the third cycle begins. This means that the second cycle can last anywhere in length from 2x to 2.5x. The third cycle 2X is primarily a growth cycle with a lower saturation point and decay process followed by a higher saturation point. The last 1.5-1.6X cycle is primarily a decay cycle interrupted with a mid area growth period. Near ideal fractal cycles can be seen in the trading valuations of many commodities and individual stocks. Most of the cycles are caricatures of the ideal and conform to Gompertz mathematical type saturation and decay curves.

For the Wilshire, the US composite equity index March 09 to October 2011 was a 4 phased Lammert growth and decay fractal series..

x/2.5x/2x/1.5x :: 5/13/10/7 months. That’s an empirical real system observation – available to all – of the time dependent workings of the macroeconomic system.

2005 was the description, the hypothesis – March 2009 to October 2011 was the empirical asset valuation evolution…

The flash crash on 6 May 2010 ….. does that not meet second fractal criteria?

“A sudden nonlinear drop in the last 0.5x time period of the 2.5X is the hallmark of a second cycle and characterizes this most recognizable cycle.”

Maybe this is all occurring by chance alone …. Likely…. Very very very likely ….not.

So he might be willing to work enough for an extra $1k to give to charity (so it won’t be taxed), but he’d be a fool to work for $1k more to spend on himself, since he’d pay it all in taxes and then some and end up worse off.