I think it is fair to describe specific instances where the Great Society programs have failed miserably. The political madness around here has all but sucked the last breath out of our local economy, but the politicians keep proposing higher doses of the same failed economic strategies that continue to kill competition, raise prices of goods and services, and force people to the suburbs...or in our case to any county except Allegheny.

Now, when you talk about who "benefits" more under a progressive tax system, those at the bottom barely pay taxes as it is. If you took the bottom 10% of taxpayers and reduced their tax liability to zero, they would not benefit nearly as much as someone in the higher levels receiving a moderate rate cut. The truth is that if you make $20K or less, you're struggling with or without a progressive tax code. The only differnce is, jacking up taxes at the higher end might just mean that you make $0 instead of $20,000, because you'll be laid off. This is a immediate short-term problem for those lower income workers that I think more than balances out any marginal benefit to others.