Tax Code Most Progressive : Majority Pay Nothing!

This is just common sense. If you never have to pay for anything that you want, life will be perfect. But when all of sudden someone says that will stop and you will have to start paying for not only your own life style but that of your neighbor as well, suddenly the 'good life' isn't so good anymore. The reaction to this sudden change in circumstances is predictable - witness the violence of the unions in Wisconsin and the other states that have decided state employees will not only have to pay for part of their own retirement and health care, but have to decide whether or not to pay the union dues. With the newest data on working members of the population showing only 48% have jobs while 52% do not or don't care to have jobs, we need to take a long hard look at what we are doing wrong and fix it - Hello Scott Walker!! ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc U.S. Tax Code Is One of World's Most Progressive Source: Richard W. Rahn, "Tax Inequity," Washington Times, April 11, 2011. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The United States has one of the most progressive tax systems in the world, and has become much more progressive in the past 30 years, says Richard Rahn, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The top 1 percent of taxpayers pay 38 percent of all the income taxes despite having just 20 percent of the income. The top 10 percent of taxpayers pay 70 percent of the income tax while having just 46 percent of the income. At the other end, the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers pay just 2.7 percent of the income tax while having 13 percent of the income. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This has resulted in a situation in which a relatively small minority of taxpayers pay the bulk of the taxes, while most American pay little or no income tax. This is causing an increasing disconnect between benefits from government and what most citizens pay for. One result is a greater polarization in the political realm where a majority of citizens increasingly demand more government benefits for which they want others to pay. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Swedes were on this same destructive path, but they reversed course over the last couple of decades and made their tax system far less progressive, even though their tax rates at all levels are above most of those in the United States. The result has been a tempering of demand for new government services as people at all income levels realize they will be the ones paying for those services and not some mythical "rich" person. The side benefit is that Sweden, as a result of tax and other reforms, now has one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, says Rahn.