Free Republic

For the sake of this argument, let's divide the population into three groups. The first group consists of children, dependents, retirees, and those who manage to live off government handouts like disability, food stamps, etc. This group does not earn enough income to contribute to income taxes.

Feeling down? Paying taxes might cheer you up By Joe Rojas-Burke NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE June 18, 2007 Using brain-scanning technology, researchers have found an unlikely force at play in the minds of people paying taxes: pleasure. In their experiment, taxing people for a charitable cause activated the brain's reward centers – the same areas that respond to such sources of delight as food and sex. “Paying taxes can make people feel good,” said William Harbaugh, an economist at the University of Oregon and co-author of the study. Previous research had established that voluntary giving stirs activity in the brain regions...