> The very least that should happen is that progressive taxation should be recognised as good for society.

I believe his has been true in the US since the modern income-tax era began in 1914. (There was a temporary federal income tax during the Civil War). At any rate, a so-called "flat tax" with the same (relatively low) rate for everybody is occasionally floated, only to be shot down by most economists as likely to bankrupt the country pronto.

While nobody wants their tax rate increased, it's only been in relatively recent years that some of the very rich have begun whining in unison that they deserve "tax relief." Oddly enough, they got it on the basis (you'll laugh) that it would give them more money to spend and thus boost the economy, helping all of us.

But at any rate, the US federal income tax remains progressive, a principle that has not been seriously challenged.

Taxes on gasoline, however, are notoriously "regressive," i.e., the same percentage at the pump for everybody.

> We can change our attitude for money, so that we don't regard a high wage as a signifier of ability, virtue, intelligence etc.

I think most Americans regard money mostly as a signifier of wealth, which, if not the ultimate good, is still way up there for many people, because multimillionaires seem to be on permanent vacation, and if they're under 60 they can get laid a lot.

We even have some millionaire preachers who flaunt their bling and Bentleys and promise their (usually poor) parishioners that God wants to make everybody rich, so load up that collection plate to help get on His good side!

Seriously, and pervasive "leveling" aside, the increasing gap between the top one or two per cent and the rest of us really is troubling. It is defended by the Tea Party (and their largely middle-class fans) as proof that "there's no limit to opportunity in America," and it isn't a problem anyway because the super-rich "create the jobs for hard-working Americans."

(Was it on this thread that I read the phrase "post-industrial wealth feudalism"? Or something like it?)