Tax Fairness

This is kind of disturbing (from Drudge):

The White House budget director Josh Bolten on Monday bragged to reporters how the nation most-wealthy will see an increase in tax burden under Bush's new budget.

"If you look at the president's tax cuts as a totality, the income tax, those at the upper end of the spectrum are now paying a larger share of the income tax than they were before," Bolten explained.

"An example, the top 5 percent in income in this country -- that's people making above about $140,000 -- without the president's tax cuts that top 5 percent would be paying about less than 52 percent of our total income tax revenue.

"After the president's tax cut that group is paying more than 54 percent of our total tax revenue. So the notion that the president's tax cuts have somehow made the code less progressive is wrong. The president's tax cuts have made the tax code more progressive."

Think about that for a minute. The top 5% of wage earners in the country are paying 54% of the taxes. In today's tax-speak this is called "fair".

As one who hopes to be in the top 5% of wage earners one day, this doesn't look terribly fair to me at all. What's more disturbing (and not mentioned in the article) is that a surprisingly high percentage of wage earners don't pay ANY Federal tax at all. None.

These numbers are why I believe that a flat tax would be imminently more fair to everyone involved, and would also give everyone a financial stake in the government. If you're not paying anything in Federal taxes, why should you care what the government spends that money on? Why should you even vote, unless it is to keep the people in office who are guaranteeing your largesse.

A flat tax is the only truly fair system, requiring each citizen to pay the same percentage of their income. That keeps everyone invested in the system, and if you make more, you'll pay more. I have no idea what the appropriate percentage would be, but my suggestion: Figure out what the government thinks it needs and then decrease the amount by 25%. Give them that much and no more and require them to cut the fat from the budget and eliminate failed programs.