RW>  RB> all the honest hard work that goes with maintaining a quality of 
 RW>  RB> living for you
 RW>  RB> and your family, the working class are the ones that get stuck 
 RW>  RB> carrying the burden for society.
 RW> BR>    That's largely because there are so many of us.  The
 RW> But its not true.  If you check the numbers you will
 RW> see that the upper 20% of the money earners are paying
 RW> something like 80% of the taxes (federal, mostly income
 RW> tax).
   I'm in the 28% bracket myself - and after state taxes and social security 
it gets to 50% real fast.
 RW> BR> development tools, and new operating  suystems from which I
 RW> BR> learn what I need to learn to stay employed. The  occasional
 RW> BR> consulting job I get at my standard billing rate doesn't
 RW> BR> make me  that much - and social security gets the first 15%,
 RW> BR> the state gets another 5%,  the county gets another 3%, and
 RW> BR> the feds get 28% - doesn't leave much.  Unlike  some, I
 RW> BR> wasn't dependant on venture capital - but the nature of our
 RW> BR> businesses  is that we don't have employees, don't have
 RW> Wouldn't a nice simple flat tax be nice?  After all you
 RW> wouldn't expect to pay more for a loaf of bread then
 RW> your neighbor just because you make more money would
 RW> you?
   I could live with that pretty easily - and it would sure be nice to be 
able 
to do my taxes in a day instead of in a week.
 RW> BR>    When you attempt to take more from someone simply because
 RW> BR> he appears to  have more, you are remove from him any
 RW> BR> incentive to excel, and drive him into  offshore
 RW> BR> investments, and removing that capital from availability for
 RW> BR> startups  and ventures.  Does this make sense?
 RW> Most people don't see it like this.  They think "rich"
 RW> people get that way by winning a lottery or something
 RW> as easy.  I would have thought the debacle of the
 RW> luxury tax would have made some people realize this.
   I would have thought that too, but apparently our mistake is thinking 
beyond a pang of jealousy and envy when someone else is perceived to have 
more.
 RW> There is something even bigger, when deciding if a
 RW> person, or family, is living below the 'poverty line'
 RW> any government assistance is not included.  IOW, if you
 RW> are making $500 a month with a family of 5 you are
 RW> below the poverty line.  But you could be getting $400+
 RW> in food stamps, $300 per month in SSI payments and $100
 RW> in ADIC, which would bring your real income up to $1300
 RW> a month or from $6000/yr to 15,600.  (note all numbers
 RW> are pulled from thin air)
       
   This gives the social mechanics heartburn.  They don't want to could 
things 
this way because then the numbers change from what they think they ought to 
be.
 RW> BR>    The rich corporations are a straw man.  Substitute
 RW> BR> stockholders, and maybe  you have something - but without
 RW> BR> profits, who'd invest in a venture?  I sure  as hell
 RW> BR> wouldn't and I'd bet you wouldn't either. 
 RW> With those "rich corporations" how many people would
 RW> have jobs?  That's the question I ask.
   I work because someone needs what I can do and is willing to pay for it. 
The 'rich folks' supply the venture capital for new business startups, making 
more jobs.  Make it hard on them and watch the jobs disappear....
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