First, the rich do not pay 80% of their adjusted gross income. Nowhere near.

Second, the rich are quite deft at tax avoidance bordering on tax-evasion. Some cases are outrageous. ANd really, you have to look at the individuals case. Gates is extraordinarily rich, buit he worled hard throughout his life until he retired. H ebuilt the company from nothing. I despise some of his practices in doing so, but even they count in this country as honest work.

If an unavoidable uniform flat tax of fifteen per cent were put in place instead of the sliding scale now in use, it would probably do wonders to simplify the tax code. If at the same time the tax were made uniform across all organizations, including schools, churches and foundations, it would probably (I imagine) balance the budget in three years.


A