[Asclepius]

... The richer should pay more ...

Who gets to decide who's rich?

[Torie]

I will. Well, not just yet. In any event, it is a judgment call, and in part dictated by spending levels and income levels. The rich today are so much richer than the rich of a generation ago, and there are so many more of them (both of which are a good thing), that they do pay taxes in impressive absolute dollar numbers.

[ClearCase_guy]

Who gets to decide who's rich?

I believe that the standard measure for the Democrats (though they try not to say it loudly) is that household income over $50,000 a year classifies you as Rich. So, we should soak the rich, right? Lots of folks say "Yes" without realizing they're volunteering to be soaked.

And just in case Torie wants to say "But I do volunteer!", I'll just point out that NO ONE to whom I have explained this has actually taken that position. I know a lot of Liberals. But when I tell them that they are rich, due to their household income, they completely deny it -- and continue to say that they should not pay higher taxes, but the rich should. That's called cognitive dissonance, folks.