Rodney

Sorry you're tired of it, but it's true. I don't even have to back it up. If one or two percent of the population earns 80 percent of the income, then they pretty much get 80 percent of the tax cuts. It's not even a matter of fairness; it's a matter of effectiveness.

The richer you are, the more disposable income you have -- ie, that income which you do not actually need in order to live. It can be spent at your discretion. The reason for a tax cut is to stimulate the economy, theoretically; so why "stimulate" it by giving more money to people who already have a surplus? They're already spending a level of money that they're comfortable with; oh, they might buy an extra car, but the rest goes into the bank. It's not going to stimulate investment that creates new jobs, because having spare money doesn't make you happier to invest when things don't look all that good. Superstar investor Warren Buffett currently has much of his money in cash -- foreign currency, much of it -- waiting for the U.S. economy to sort itself out. Giving him a tax cut didn't make him invest.

If you want to get money moving through the economy, give it all to people who'll spend it, because they have to -- on a car they need to go to work, on a replacement washing machine, on clothing for the kids, on food, even if. And this money will find its way back to businesses, and the managers will note the increase in the bottom line, hopefully increase production, and everybody's happy. And the rich will skim off their share, as is their right.

Or, give tax cuts to rich people who _do_ risk their money in hard times, by giving them tax cuts on the return on their investment. But don't just throw money blindly at the rich, as much as they'd encourage you to do so.

Should the wealthy pay heavy taxes? Sure, why not? After all, America is a wealth-producing machine and they get most of it. All the money for health, education, welfare, roads, and so on makes this business possible and profitable. The armed forces exist largely to protect American interests throughout the world -- business interests. They keep open the tradeways, give America clout to negotiate favorable trade agreements for business interests, and basically make international business both possible and easier, for American business especially. So the rich get their money's worth out of government, as far as I'm concerned. America is an entire system that supports their wealth. They should stop crying and pay up -- not blindly, but responsibly. I don't condemn greed, but I do condemn stupid, short-sighted greed, and I see a lot of that in the current government/business junta.