From: "Tony Ingenoso" 

The poor essentially pay no (or token) federal income tax with the current
"progressive" system.  I haven't looked in the last couple years,
but it was up to around $30K/yr before a family of four started paying any
significant income tax a while ago.

Middle class is a bit different different depending on what end of the
scale you're on and who's defining middle class.

There's a big difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.

"James Adams"  wrote in message
news:3E0078EA.43B9F89B{at}compuserve.com...
> In yesterday's Washington Post
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59577-2002Dec15.html
>
> It seems the administration feels the poor and middle class aren't
> paying their fair share of federal taxes.  The affluent are being
> over-taxed to take up the slack.  There is a reason for that - the poor
> don't have any money.  That's why they're poor.  The current
> administration isn't going to rest until the USA has been turned into a
> banana republic where 2% of the population controls 98% of the wealth.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-4