[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by ORD_Buckeye

This isn't about spreading any wealth whatsoever. It's about how we, as a a modern democracy and civil society, assign the relative tax burden to our citizens. In other words, who pays what to maintain all those roads, defense contracts, farm subsidies, public universities, medical research and the like.

It isn't about taking money out of my pocket and giving it to Joe the Plumber. It's about making me shoulder a proportion of this country's obligations that I can comfortably handle while maybe removing a little of that burden from people who are really struggling to make ends meat right now.

I do, however, find Joe the Plumber's responses fascinating for one reason: how the American psyche leads so many people to vote against their own economic interests. I am sure that Joe absolutely believes that he's just around the corner from that 250K income, so why would he want to ruin things for when he inevitably gets there. Yet any statistical socio-economic analysis of Joe based upon his current age, profession, social class and education levels would reveal that he has virtually no chance in his lifetime of threading that needle.

Based on what I've read, actually that's not really true, unless what I have read of Obama's tax plan is wrong. If people are going to get government rebate checks despite not having paid taxes, then it is ABSOLUTELY about spreading wealth, or income redistribution, or whatever your favorite phrase is. If only people who actually PAY taxes get money back, then I agree, it is not.