In Washington, and here at the New Hampshire State House, we often hear calls for “the rich” (never precisely defined) to “pay their fair share” (again, never specified, but always more than they are now. In truth, Americans are more reliant on the taxes of the highest earners than any other country in history. Our progressive income tax system, made steeper over the years, now yields revenues from which more are derived from the richest 1% of Americans than from the bottom 95% combined. TheBlogProf has much, much more.
We also learn today that Japan’s pending corporate tax rate cut will leave the U.S. with the highest corporate taxes in the world.

I don’t begrudge anyone making more money than me. I wouldn’t have chosen radio news, legislative staff, and a think-tank for my career path if I did. But to claim that the rich aren’t paying enough in taxes seems petty. Jealousy is no way to structure a tax system.