Back in the day if you put in the hours and effort you were reward for it. Hard work: More money. A simple concept. Sadly this is no longer true and few people today even realize it. This is because of the evolution of the income tax. In 1861 we started out with a flat 3% tax on income over $800. That's right, everyone paid the same percentage, regardless of income. Now let's look at the 2017 tax bracket.
Table 1. Single Taxable Income Tax Brackets and Rates, 2017
Rate Taxable Income Bracket Tax Owed
10%
$0 to $9,325 10% of Taxable Income
15%
$9,325 to $37,950 $932.50 plus 15% of the excess over $9,325
25%
$37,950 to $91,900 $5,226.25 plus 25% of the excess over $37,950
28%
$91,900 to $191,650 $18,713.75 plus 28% of the excess over $91,900
33%
$191,650 to $416,700 $46,643.75 plus 33% of the excess over $191,650
35%
$416,700 to $418,400 $120,910.25 plus 35% of the excess over $416,700
39.60%
$418,400+ $121,505.25 plus 39.6% of the excess over $418,400
As you can see, the more money you make, the more you get taxed. Presently thats why working hard no longer works, you're being punished for it. This has happened because of the share the wealth mentality that has gripped the masses and politicians. Giving more money to poor people sounds nice at first, but then you realize this concept actually makes them even poorer long term. This is because these high taxes are making rich people be less productive for fear of getting bumped up a higher bracket, or making them leave the country for places that won't gouge them so much. This outflow of successful people weakens the economy, therefore this idea of sharing the wealth doesn't work and only succeeds at sharing economic misery. Although I wish we'd go back to a fair flat tax for everyone, this is unlikely to happen in this country anytime soon (although trump is making some progress on this, lowering taxes across the board). So as a result you should look into getting passive income that isn't effected by the income bracket. Crypto, real estate, and stocks can be a way to get around this (but only if you play them right). Do it long enough and who knows?Maybe you can leave behind that cubical and overbearing boss for an independent future. It can never hurt to try