[Reeses]

Total taxes at all levels of government are 25.6% of GDP

The total taxes on my personal GDP are much higher than that. I must be doing something very wrong. Anyway, I appreciate your take and bits of education.

[JasonC]

The old pay little in taxes. The young pay little in taxes. The poor pay little in taxes. The temporarily unemployed, who may not be any of the above, pay little in taxes while unemployed. Everybody else necessarily pays more than the average in taxes, since "average" includes those paying less in the denominator.