Let 'em scream, then. It's about time that we focus on Government paying for what Government is supposed to pay for.
Ten percent is all God asks (aka "tithing"). How on Earth could our stupid, wasteful Government ask for more? Too damned many with their hands out........and too few contributing.
No, my friend........let 'em whine. Ten percent it is (still FAR more than the original income tax rate, BTW.......look it up), and any increase would require a two-thirds super-majority vote in BOTH houses.
To RightOnLine: I too think the amount we currently spend is excessive and disgraceful. I'm just pointing out that a shift to a flat tax won't fix things unless everyone is honest about how much they want to spend and how tightly they should be intertwined with "the system."
To the rest of you: Thanks for the data. Interestingly, I had a conversation once with my economist brother-in-law about the total involvement of the government in the US economy. He thought that if you took mandates and regulation (e. g., things employers have to do and pay for but wouldn't do otherwise) into account it might be as high as 50%. The actual dollar transfer is lower.
Yet another crazy idea from the point of implementation in the USA would be a VAT (value-added-tax). They'd pass it all right, but they wouldn't do away with other taxes. That's political reality, folks.
I remember the USA in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up. It worked pretty well. Yes, there were high marginal tax rates, but because most people's income was below where they kicked in, and there were plenty of easy loopholes, the overall burden was lower. The country worked well--some would say it was the Golden Age. Moderate taxes (if only in light of today's rates) weren't the only reason, but they didn't hurt.