The freeing of the slaves finally pays off

I don't have to pay my taxes until April 17 this year because (a) April 15 falls on a Sunday, hence tax day is pushed back to the 16th, and (b) the District of Columbia celebrates Emancipation Day on the 16th, pushing tax day back to the 17th. Finally, I get some benefit from this 13th Amendment deelywig.

Nevertheless, I am finishing up my taxes a day early, and as I do every year I note something amazing about the federal tax system. My wife's and my income together place us approximately in the top 15% of household income in the US. Our federal taxes as a percent of our total income: a mere 9 percent. The federal government asks very little of me.

Of course I pay other taxes as well as the federal income tax. State and local taxes were another 2.5% or so. Social Security and Medicare are 12.5%, but this isn't a pure tax since it's directly connected to future benefits (and yes, I believe I will get those benefits when the time comes). Indirect taxes (corporate tax, etc.) add another 2% or so if the burden is spread evenly. Sales tax is probably another 5%. So all told, outside of Social Security and Medicare, I'm paying about 18.5% of my income in taxes. That gets me schools, roads, parks, police, fire department, a legal system, national security, environmental protection, consumer safety, etc.

Now if Joe Sixpack working for just over minimum wage at WalMart was paying 18.5% of his income in taxes, I'd say he was overtaxed. But me, riding high in the top 15% of the income distribution - if anything I'm undertaxed. Please, tack on another couple of percentage points and give me an attack on global warming, an anti-poverty program, and universal health insurance.