Another Response, This Time From Kevin

I'll try to make it quick this time - I feel EXACERBATION (I misused condescention - but I agree with Chuck on the point, condescention is fine, even good, if used properly) "greg, greg, greg" and "god, greg," like I'm some sort of odd clam with my ideas. Mutual agreement on certain points and assumptions is the beginning of political discourse...my main point, which Kevin thinks is trite, is that we MISS this fundamental step - or in many cases, don't take it far enough. Sure, we believe in capitalism, but we also believe in workers rights, in corporate responsibility, and the merits of entrepreneurship.

I've had the money discussion before - and yes, Bush favors tax cuts for wealthier people that I do not happen to agree with. But the last time I had this discussion with people - smart people - they did not know that we already have a progessive income tax in the United States. Income under 30s, you pay 28%; 30-60 you pay 32%; 60-100gs you pay 38%; over 100gs you pay 45%; over 1 million you pay 55%...these are made up numbers, but this is the idea. This type of tax structure, to me, is fair, richer people pay a higher percentage of their income. BUT, most people are not rich and most of the tax revenue in this country comes from the 30-60g range because that's where the most people are....if you want more revenue for the Fed Government, you raise the middle group 1% and it translates to billions of dollars. In contrast, you lower the upper group 1% and you only lose millions. Something to keep in mind when talking about money and taxes...