Soak the rich

So you think the weathly don't pay enough in taxes? And you think the rich have caught a big break under George W. Bush? Guess again. This story from the Wall Street Journal tells the tale.

Well, not so fast, Robin Hoods. An IRS study by a trio of tax wonks shows that, even after including Social Security taxes, the overall tax burden grew more progressive from 1979 to 1999. And while that burden became a tad less progressive after the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, the rich and upper middle class continued to pay far and away the bulk of U.S. taxes.

The top 20% of wage earners pay 67.47% of the taxes while the bottom 20% pay only .65%. That is a dramatic increase in the taxes paid by the top 20% and a dramatic decrease in taxes paid by the bottom 20% in the last twenty years.