Tax...

Washington Post Editorial "We hold to the old-fashioned opinion that the government ought to provide certain services, and that to do so it must raise a certain amount of revenue. The federal tax burden today is not inordinately high by historical standards, while the demands on the government are large and growing. Mr. Bush himself has not been shy to spend: on defense, for example, and on farm subsidies. Yet the president and most of his fellow Republican officeholders continue to behave as though balancing the books just isn't part of their job description. The economic plan that the president proposed yesterday is in keeping with this irresponsible philosophy.

[...] When you factor in the other tax changes proposed by Mr. Bush yesterday, you find that the poorest fifth of Americans would see their after-tax income go up this year by one-tenth of 1 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center. The top 1 percent of earners, by comparison, would see their income rise by 3.5 percent."

I don't have a problem with paying taxes in exchange for the services I receive from the government.  It's the only fair thing to do.  I do, however, mind, paying more taxes so that the wealthy can pay less - and I mind paying taxes to fund programs that primarily benefit the wealthy rather than the needy.