If the government is running a surplus, and if the money it collects is yours to begin with, then it follows that the government ought to return the money it's not using. That the rich will get more of what's returned than anyone else is understandable if the rich contributed more than anyone else. So of course any tax cut will give more back to them. It's this underlying shift of income and wealth toward the top that threatens the nation's social cohesion, its moral authority, and its citizens' sense that the burdens and benefits of economic change are being apportioned appropriately. A truly progressive tax on income and on wealth is justifiable under these circumstances because, as even Adam Smith understood, it would better equalize the sacrifices required to achieve important public ends, such as providing a good public education or reducing the public debt.
Equal sacrifice is the operative principle.
As income and wealth continue to accumulate at the top, the fairest way to equalize the sacrifices needed to accomplish what we must do as a nation is to require the top to part with a greater portion of its accumulation than anyone else. This article may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author. View other 'The Last Word' articles.