The bottom line up front is that “if all men are born free and equal,” then “all men should be taxed the same rate” or contribute [evenly] to support the government’s expenditures, regardless of their levels of incomes. In a looser term, there should have been no tax brackets coercing some people to pay way more than others.

The more you make the more you pay; regardless of tax cuts or tax increases. By example, in 2010, Mitt Romney earned $21.7M. Benefiting from the Bush-Era Tax Cuts, he only paid 13.9% in federal income tax, which was about $3M. You see, he paid more not less than you although his tax rate was less. If he were to pay 35%, the government would have withheld about $9.7M from his incomes.

The golden principle of any society is that all should be provided the same opportunities (not dependency) for their pursuit of happiness regardless of race, gender, or incomes; the American taxation system violates such a principle because Congress enacts tax policies that are tailored to favor a group of individuals while discriminating against another group based on earnings.

Bush was wrong to have provided tax cuts to the wealthiest and Obama is also wrong to have wanted to extend tax cuts for individuals earning under $250.000.00. What Congress fails to tell us is that high earners will also benefit from the Obama tax cut on their first $250.000.00 and then they will be paying either 33% or 35% on the rest. By example, an individual earning $260,000.00 will benefit from the tax cut and then will be taxed on the remaining $10.000.00, which will be about 15%.

A fair and equitable tax system would advocate for a flat and proportional rate for all instead of one that is based on one’s ability to pay or the higher is your earning the higher is your tax bracket, which would result in all contributing evenly toward the government’s expenditures such as infrastructures, support to the United States military, law enforcement, social services, etc.

A group of individuals should not be paying two or three times more in taxes than another group of individuals. It is just not fair and we can say that government is punishing people from working hard or for landing great jobs instead of rewarding them for their success. This is downright extortion and an equivocal government shakedown.

With the new IRS bracket, the less you make the more things you can afford and the more you can save. Such a practice is unfair and discriminatory. It prevents working Americans from effectively pursuing happiness.

Bobb Q Rousseau