What is the problem people seem to have with the idea that the rich should pay more taxes? It seems trivial to me that the rich receive far more benefit from the government in the United States and elsewhere than do the poor. Among these manifold benefits are roads, police protection, an educated workforce, government contracts....

Historically speaking, the last 30 years or so has seen massively low rates, and a corresponding increase in income disparity between the highest and lowest earners. If posters such as BroncoBilly and Rebellion honestly think this is "Socialism", then I'd say you need to double check your definitions.

At worst, Noetsi is a social democrat, and for you to repeatedly call him a socialist can only be an attempt to discredit him without confronting his arguments and evidence.

Further, to pretend that the government cannot spend money in a productive manner is to ignore large portions of history. To criticize and question specific government programs is fully justified, but to imagine that market capitilism is a "magic bullet" solution to our problems is at best ignorant; at worst, intellectually dishonest.

HDI and HPI
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2...ic_27_2_1.html
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2.../HDR05_HDI.pdf

For some data on the effect of the Bush tax cuts, see
http://www.ctj.org/html/gwb0602.htm
and
http://www.ctj.org/

For corporate welfare and fairness of taxation, see
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-corporatewelfare.htm

For a counterpoint opinion and generally insightful criticism of big government, big tax POVs, see
http://www.cato.org/