Are you aware of the difference between an INCOME tax and a SALES tax? Sales taxes have progressive qualities because the poor will pay proportionally less, without intentionally targeting one economic class.
You've actually got that completely backward. Sales taxes are
regressive taxes. Their selective application is a secondary component intended to soften their inherently disproportionate impact, but the tax itself is still regressive in nature. Income taxes, such as they currently exist here in the US, are
progressive because the tax rate itself is largely dependent upon the health and the wealth of the taxpayer.
One cannot underestimate, however, the importance of everyone paying *something* lest we become a polarized nation of producers and parasites. The parasites will vote for bread and circuses, paid-for by the greedy rich, and the producers will use their power to circumvent tax law to protect their wealth... Welcome to 2010.
More like welcome to 1980. I'm not sure if you remember, but we're still in the era of
Trickle-down Voodoo Reaganomics that have long since come to represent standard American policy. After the
Great Communicator and his opportunistic followers rewrote our national priorities we no longer make anything or export anything of substantial consequence, all while importing far more than we could ever hope to pay back. That's not something that can be undone quickly. I'm guessing it would probably take another fifty years or more to turn this ship around and nobody who is currently at the helm shows much promise of steering us past the financial icebergs in our path. Trust me, the consumer real estate implosion is just one of several more financial meltdowns yet to come. If you're already an adult you'll probably be fine, but your kids are likely to face hardships far beyond what we're used to.
By that I mean that you grew up in piss poor poverty and have reached a level of financial stability solely through your own means, without any help from mommy, daddy or government assistance.
No help from the government eh? How do you explain your mom's welfare check? Who do you think helped protect the market in which you eventually made your money during the
two centuries it existed prior to your glorious birth?