Mitt Romney has proclaimed, “I pay all the taxes that are
legally required, not a dollar more.” While most Americans may
not agree with his tax rate (14%), few would disagree with his
sentiment. Almost no one willingly pays more taxes than
required. Yet there was a time when elites willingly
acknowledged that they should pay far higher rates than others.
In fact, when the income tax was first regularly put into place
in 1913, the well-off were the only ones required to pay it.
Before that time, our government relied upon a system of tariffs
for revenue. But as the nation grew in population and economic
prowess, it required public works like more efficient
transportation to grease the wheels of capital, public goods
like schools to create more skilled workers, and public
protections to help those who the market failed. Our leaders —
many of whom came from the wealthy elite — turned to the idea of
an income tax. In 1909, Republican president Teddy Roosevelt
argued in favor of income and inheritance taxes, as th