I was hoping  for more from this article.  I am not sure it tells me that we learned anything other than the fact that its a good idea to  finance a social safety net with  a progressive tax system. Gee, what an eye opener. Does history teach us anything about the following - 

Is the system of credits and deductions too complex and beneficial to the highest income earners? Should we lower the highest marginal tax rate (53% or so) and eliminate tax perks which benefit those with access to expertise and mask the real tax rate paid?   Does it make sense to tax capital gains less than income?  Is a value added tax such as HST better than income tax? What are the biggest tax gaffes in history and why?  What were the best ideas and why?  Is it a good idea to tax corporations at a lower rate than individuals? Why?

In short, can we have an article with some meat?