The Republicans are definitely on to something here. The
federal tax system is progressive, even counting Social
Security. Highly progressive without Social Security. What
is the argument for a progressive tax system? How does
one even begin to contrive an argument for progressive
taxes without first arguing that the rich get more and the
working classes less than they "deserve" -- i.,e, that our
economic system is exploitative. Can you hear the
Democrats making this argument in public? I can't.
It's hard to talk about redistribution without talking about
exploitation.
The Father of Modern Capitalist Thought on Progressive Taxation
"The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support
of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their
respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which
they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state ....[As
Henry Home (Lord Kames) has written, a goal of taxation should be
to] 'remedy inequality of riches as much as possible, by relieving
the poor and burdening the rich.'"
Adam Smith
-- AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (1776)