How much should the rich pay?

“Tax the Rich” and “Make Corporations Pay Their Fair Share” are very popular slogans, but what do they mean?

First, federal taxes are paid on income, not wealth. The top 3% of income earners in 2018 paid 50% of all taxes. The bottom 50% of income earners paid 3% of taxes. Look it up. So how much should the rich pay to make it fair?

Second, anyone with a basic understanding of how successful enterprises work will know that all businesses large and small make their profit and stay in business by selling their products and services for prices that cover all of their costs, including taxes, plus an additional amount to pay for their time, effort and investment. Businesses must include the cost of all their taxes in whatever they sell to us, their customers. So what the bloody #blank# does “fair share” mean when applied to businesses and corporations? We pay for all their taxes!

One of life’s most important lessons is learning to tell the difference between reality (truth, facts) and what my friend Howard Jarvis used to call “compost” (recycled bovine waste).

— Dale Burrow, Chico