[kevkrom]

You would be in for trouble from Jefferson and Patrick Henry I'm afraid :O)

Well, I wasn't really advocating that position, I was just going off a little on the concept of "fairness" in relation to taxes.

I was, however, a little more serious about people who just get entitlements from the government not being allowed to vote.

[ancient_geezer]

a little more serious about people who just get entitlements from the government not being allowed to vote.

That in itself is a good reason to go to a visible consumption tax. Participation at all economic levels is key to getting government under control.

An interesting side light on income as a measure of one's economic status in society.

If one defines poverty as incapacity to pay for necessities, the statistical link between low income and "poverty" is not as clear as some would like to believe.

I highly recommend studying the source table, especially as to what is included in the income number (it is quite complete including welfare payments, SS etc.).

Table entries excerpted from ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2001/income.txt

Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2001

Complete reporting of income a/

Item	Total complete reporting	Less than $5,000	$5,000 to $9,999	$10,000 to $14,999	$15,000 to $19,999	$20,000 to $29,999	$30,000 to $39,999	$40,000 to $59,999	$50,000 to $69,999	$70,000 and over
Households (thousands)	88,735	4,100	6,829	8,099	7,014	12,075	10,508	8,737	12,480	18,892
Income before taxes b/	$47,507	$1,666	$7,675	$12,380	$17,282	$24,494	$34,456	$44,418	$58,943	$113,978
Income after taxes b/	$44,587	$1,528	$7,678	$12,388	$17,086	$23,924	$33,047	$42,362	$55,572	$104,685
Average annual expenditures	$41,395	$20,517	$16,625	$20,642	$25,028	$28,623	$35,430	$40,900	$50,136	$76,124
Estimated market value of owned home	$97,681	$41,007	$49,326	$53,907	$58,377	$61,612	$72,720	$79,331	$115,123	$194,720
Household Demographics:
Age of the reference person	48.0	39.4	54.1	55.4	53.0	49.5	46.8	45.3	44.8	45.5
Avg Number Persons	2.5	1.7	1.6	1.9	2.1	2.3	2.4	2.7	2.9	3.1
Children under 18	0.7	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.9
Persons 65 and over	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1
Earners	1.4	0.8	0.5	0.7	0.8	1.1	1.4	1.6	1.8	2.1
Vehicles	2.0	1.0	.9	1.1	1.5	1.7	1.9	2.2	2.5	2.9
Percent distribution:
Homeowner	65	33	43	51	54	58	62	69	77	87
With mortgage	40	14	13	13	19	25	36	46	58	71
No mortgage	25	20	30	38	35	32	26	22	19	16
Renter	35	67	57	49	46	42	38	31	23	13
At least one vehicle	88	61	62	71	85	90	94	95	97	97