[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

What most people who say increase the tax base fail to realize is how poor many Americans are. There's a huge level of poverty and the biggest reason so many people pay no income tax is there's not much to tax. Not to mention, all Americans are taxed in some way as the Economist article says.

The wealth disparity in the United States has been growing rapidly and the uber-rich have horded more and more of the wealth. This isn't at all up for debate as it's clear in the numbers the extremely rich have seen their net worth explode while the middle class has seen its stagnate over the last 20 years.

I'm for phasing out all of the Bush tax cuts, but I also think that the people who are making over a million a year should pay more on top of that. Poor people need the money and the US economy needs the poor people to keep their money so they can spend it in the economy. The rich will be as well off if they are taxed some more on their income over a million as they were before.

Don't forget that while the American system can be criticized, it is very clear there is no better country in the entire world to be 'poor' in. The poor in the US are very well off:

In 2005, the typical household defined as poor by the government had a car and air conditioning. For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children, especially boys, in the home, the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household had a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, a clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.
The home of the typical poor family was not overcrowded and was in good repair. The family was able to obtain medical care when needed. By its own report, the family was not hungry and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs.
Poor families clearly struggle to make ends meet, but in most cases, they are struggling to pay for air conditioning and cable TV while putting food on the table.