Should the rich pay more taxes?
Most of the time when I read about the rich paying more taxes, the argument runs along the lines of tax burdens (ie, the rich can afford it, etc). They also talk about social justice, which I don't really dig as an argument.
Only rarely, and in a not fully developed form, in my opinion, is what I consider to be a potentially more compelling argument, should it pan out: The rich derive greater benefit, on the whole, from common property and services.
Business, for instance relies on the interstate transportation system. Public education creates a cadre of at least competent people that the rich employ in various capacities to make more money. In essence, publicly supported infrastructure, in a variety of forms, is a common good that the rich may derive greater utility from, individually, than the middle class and poor.
For the purposes of this discussion I would include corporations in this construct.
Note that I am not necessarily suggesting we increase taxes (although I think it's a good idea), I am merely making a tentative argument for progressive taxation.
What say you?
Has anybody done any studies estimating the relative benefit to the rich from common property and services? Do they benefit - in a proportional sense - more heavily than the middle class or poor? (ie, they can trace a greater percentage of their wealth/income to public goods/services than the middle class/poor?)
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