pos, you guys covered a lot of good ground on this topic and it makes for good discussion. considering we dont have assays the OT does'nt matter (at least to me) but in the most simplistic terms i can put this...

how much "income" for the top 10% actually gets spent for thier houses, cars, travel and most other expenses? if a guy makes a billion a year his personal expenses are usually zilch...claimed income for folks in the top brackets are only claimed because it's a tool not because it's what the person actually recieved...

i dont really know the answer to this problem but warren buffet actually went to capital hill and argued that huge estates should be taxed much higher because basically the huge amounts money given to heirs creates an empirical system (basically, the idiot kids can never spend the money and it only continues to grow)....i like the guy and i think he's right...

imo, in the US, we need to find a "tax free level", lets say under $150k year where you pay no income tax (but you also recieve no credits)....a man making $50k a year basically spends every dime on the basic necessities... a man making a billion per year spends virtually nothing on necessities. maybe that would be a place to start, once everyone can make enough for the basics without being taxed then you use a stepped method "if you want to make huge money you pay higher taxes"...the fact is, you're taking that money out of someones pocket or off of someone else's labor so maybe you should pay more....either that, or tax the hell out of the poor until they show up at your doorstep with pitchforks and take everything....