Flat Tax

She has brought up some interesting arguments that I have thought about. 1. Pro repeats that progressive tax rates punish people for success, but paying higher tax rates is not a punishment. They are a responsibility that goes with the territory of success. A punishment is a penalty but a responsibility is an expectation. If I have to pass my driver's test to get a license that is not a penalty, that is part of the process if I want the privilege of driving. If you earn more money, it is not a penalty to pay taxes but part of the process of the American tax system. Pro says that a flat tax embraces fairness, but I've explained why it's fair to expect those with more money to pay higher tax rates. They can afford it comfortably whereas other people struggle to get by, which is not good for them or the overall economy. No man is an island. We are all in this market and community (country) together as Americans, that is why we have the social contract that justifies taxes in the first place [A]. 2. Dropped 3. A progressive tax rate can be very simple. For instance it can be divided into 5 tiers or even 4, and the percentage you pay is according to which of the 4 or 5 brackets you fall into. That is not difficult to understand. Fraud occurs not because the tax process is hard to understand, but because people lie and hide assets, which would still happen even with a flat tax. 4. Other laws holding politicians accountable should be put in place separate from the issue of progressive vs. flat taxes. For instance if you pass laws that show complete transparency in corporate donors, or eliminate the revolving door in politics, then cronyism would be minimized among politicians without having to change the structure of the tax code. 5. Dropped 6. Dropped 7. Dropped 8. I could drop those other points, because they are repeated contentions. Many of them have to do with social responsibility which I have repeatedly addressed also. People who struggle financially are severely burdened emotionally and with debt. This is bad for their well being [B] and affects their ability to work and be productive in society. We are not an island, so other people's influence affects us and we all benefit from as little people struggling as possible. We should minimize suffering and so many people suffer from financial stress. Meanwhile the richest people do not suffer at all or barely even notice when they are taxed at rates which seem high to the rest of us, but barely put a dent in their finances. At the end of the day money is just paper and people's lives are what matter. The rich people will still find a way to flourish and stay rich, while the poor and middle class need a little help from the government to keep the rich in check, the same way the rich rely on the government to help keep the poor people poor. 9. A flat tax would free up immediate cash, but the wealthy will just invest that cash in business overseas where there is cheaper labor. That will not do much for the rest of middle or impoverished America. 10. That's the reason we can assume that people in America would not be better off with a flat tax. 11. Most people don't realize they are being screwed by the wealthy because they live under the faulty assumption that they can be one of them someday if they "work hard enough. " People are also brainwashed to believe their taxes go to fund lazy poor people which is why they think they want a flat tax. They don't realize how much their taxes will actually increase if the super rich pay a lower rate. 12. Dropped 13. Again it goes back to the argument of social responsibility. Pro says inequality is an inherent part of nature. That is true but so are natural disasters and we account for them and try to protect against them and the danger they can create. Drastic wealth inequality is not good for this country [C] so we should help keep it to a minimum with a progressive tax rate. CONCLUSION We have a social responsibility to take care of the people around us who are a part of our lives and whose lives in turn affect ours and the progress we can make as individuals and as a country. It will alleviate the most stress on more people to utilize a progressive tax rate over a flat tax rate. [A] . http://en.wikipedia.org... [B] . http://www.debt.org... [C] . http://thepolitic.org...