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Friday, March 12, 2004 Email Intercepted Leaving Alaska I see it from a different point of view I guess. I've never understood why people say the rich should pay a higher percentage of their income in personal federal income tax. We are told that the reason we pay income tax is to pay our fair share of all the services the federal government provides -- national security, police, courts, infrastructure, public social goods, etc.. Do rich people (> $100K AGI) disproportionately benefit from these services? I don't think so. So why should they have to pay a disproportionately higher amount of money to sustain them? Surely the argument isn't just because they have more. Otherwise, to be consistent, you'd have to argue that rich people should have to pay more for a gallon of milk than you or I do too. Besides, as a category, I think the top 10% of income tax payers pay close to 2/3 of all the income tax. And upwards of 40% of all filers in this country end up paying no income tax. That hardly seems fair when you consider that they're benefiting from so-called "critical government services" too. I don't know enough about corporate income tax to have an opinion. Alaska is one of about ten or so states that doesn't have an income tax. We also don't have a sales tax. And to boot, the state pays every one of us an annual dividend from interest on the permanent fund. We all got $1107 last year -- yippee, free money! Lately our "representatives" in Juneau have been hollering that they're in fiscal trouble like all the other states, but understandably no one is feeling too sorry for poor old Alaska when the market value of our (they keep assuring us the money belongs to The People®) permanent fund is in the neighborhood of $25 billion (yes, BILLION), with a total population of about 500,000 people mind you. Kerry doesn't stand a chance in Alaska given his intractable opposition to opening ANWR. Hell, even the Alaska democratic delegation nearly broke ranks with their national party. They almost withheld their support for Gore at the national convention in LA four years ago because of his opposition to ANWR. Again, not that anyone really cares about Alaska's paltry number of electoral votes (hanging chads notwithstanding). 7:14:13 PM    Comments disabled © Copyright 2008 Rufus. Nonsense, distribute widely and freely! Last update: 7/26/2008; 10:40:41 AM.			Readers Amused       Home About Me Airedale Philosophy How this all got started       FAQ What's an Upright? Upright: noun : a by and large bipedal companion, also referred to as a human being. What's a Cheechako? Cheechako: noun : a person new to Alaska who has come with the intention to live here. Who's Master? Master: pronoun : just the finest upright on the face of the earth, that's who! To read him is to love him. What's Dogdom? Dogdom: noun : Life's venue from a dog's point of view. What's a Sourdough? Sourdough: noun : A long time Alaskan who has an automatic suspicion of cheechakos. What does Outside mean? Outside: noun : A provincial reference to somplace other than Alaska; usually the lower 48. What's Breakup? Breakup: noun : A uniquely Alaskan season between winter and spring when the snow and ice begins to melt for good. Where is SquareBanks? SquareBanks: slang : A self-evident euphemism for a place widely known as Fairbanks, AK. Where can I read the Houston Trip? Houston Trip: vignette : Here What digital camera do you use? Camera: hardware : Canon Powershot A80 (4.0 MP) Who's Mom? Mom: Hottie : Have A Look What's a Squeakamunka? Squeakamunka: noun : your ordinary gray squirrel which can be seen everywhere in our Cleveland neighborhood! « Alaska Blogs »  Stories Fiction Boy Wonder Bat Girl Objects in Mirror Are Larger Than They Appear Used To Be Fish Skin Deep Essay Life Is Good Desert Nostalgia A Voice of Reason Fictional Four Realms of Darkness Poetry Lucky Chain  The Cycling Pages 1999 Canadian Tour 2000 Tour of Alaska "Yooper" : 2001 Tour of WI/Michigan UP 2001 Spine of Italy Tour 2002 Tour of New England 2004 Tour of New Zealand (coming soon!) 2005 Tour Of Nova Scotia Conways Game of Life (needs java plugin) Sometimes Interesting Billy Greg (Hiatus) Virginia Postrel Wendy McElroy Samizdata Atlantic Monthly Reason No Treason Slashdot Derke Lowe Heather Champ (Photo blog) T.C. Boyle Liquid Generation Improved Clinch Exquisite Corpse, A. Codrescu Fred On Everything Assymetrical Information The Daily Ablution (Hibernation) Lileks Frank Kelly (Hiatus) Up In Alaska