Or for that matter, why not have a NCT to motivate the lower income people
to better their incomes? This "tax the rich" meme is destructive to the
lower economic classes in the long run. More than half of the current
millionaires in the US are blue collar workers who busted their ass and
invested wisely. If you look at the profile of the average millionaire in
the US (Money magazine did such a detailed survey last year), you will find
that most of them are indistinguishable (lifestyle-wise and
background-wise) from the average American.
I am one of those people who makes more than $100k, but I worked and
invested to make every penny. I should not be penalized because I make
more than the next guy; odds are I work harder and longer than the next guy
to make my money. Nonetheless, I pay more than half of my income in taxes
already, to support a system that was unwilling to help me when I made
nothing (yes, I am a single white male). For most of my life, I have lived
in poverty by any American standard (i.e. didn't have a TV for most of my
childhood, and sometimes no food either).
It doesn't disturb me that I was unable to get aid from the goverment when
I needed it. What *does* disturb me is that they expect me to pay for
everyone else now that I make decent living by my own efforts. This is
terribly inequitable and gives me nothing but the deepest revulsion for
government and the taxes they impose. It is government of the parasites,
by the parasites, for the parasites. I would rather opt out, thank you
very much.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com