Arguments about money are never pretty. Current arguments about the economic and fiscal merits of the Bush tax plan are particularly frustrating. And arguments about its fairness are downright infuriating, however important they may be.
Statistics are one of the enemies here.
Citizens for Tax Justice, a respected, labor-funded think tank, says the income tax plan is hugely unfair because the wealthiest 1 percent would get 31 percent of the benefits. Sort that one out. The hyperventilated rhetoric makes it all worse. In other arenas of great public controversy, the Constitution can guide clear thinking or at least provide a common vocabulary for debate. It does not offer such guidance on the issue of tax fairness, and, more generally, on how economic benefits are distributed in society.