Regressive vs. Progressive Taxation. From the NYT, September 17, 2020. IDEA OF THE DAY: THE ‘FAIR TAX’ Many states have tax systems that are regressive: They take a greater share of income from the poor than the rich. And because a disproportionate share of the richest taxpayers are white, these state tax systems also widen racial wealth gaps. In Illinois, for example, the lowest-earning fifth of the population pays 14.4 percent of its income in state and local taxes, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The middle-earning fifth pays 12.6. The highest-earning 1 percent of residents pays 7.4 percent. This year, Illinoisans will vote on whether to change this system, through a constitutional amendment to authorize a more progressive tax, called the Fair Tax. It would cut taxes for the 97 percent of residents who make less than $250,000 in taxable income — and raise taxes for the remaining 3 percent, according to the...
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The Flag I Knew but Never Thought About.
I’m a product of the South. I grew up a southern white boy in the 50’s. I went to all white schools and lived in all white neighborhoods. I had all white friends and dated all white girls. I read books about the civil war exploits of confederate soldiers. I watched movies dramatizing the antebellum south. I watched TV shows like “The Gray Ghost” glorifying the exploits of John Singleton Mosby (Mosby’s Raiders). I listened to my grandmother talking about her father, my great grandfather, who fought under Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville. Yes, I’m a true “son of the confederacy”. To me the Confederate flag was a sign of a proud heritage and second only to the American flag. The problem was I never thought about the other side of the meaning of that flag. We in the south, and when I say that, I mean we white people in the south grew up glorifying the confederacy. We lived, we breathed it, it was just part of us....
