Originally Posted by loquitur

Dippin, your graphs are beside the point. I dind't say the rich are paying higher marginal rates now, I said that the progressivity of the taxes actually paid is higher now than at any time in history. and it's absolutely the case that more of the total tax burden is borne by the rich today than ever was the case in history. That's progressivity. Increasing the share of taxes paid by the rich will aggravate a situation in which you have a citizenry divided into those who benefit from govt without paying much if anything for it, and those who do pay. It's not healthy for society to create a class of moochers and then expect others to pay for it. That'll work to some extent if the tax burden isn't that big, but watch what happens when you raise it.

Your complaint is that the rich have more money to begin with. Well, yes, that's a tautology. It's also why they'd pay more taxes even with a flat tax. But that has nothing to do with progressivity.