The poor and middle-class should disproportionately bear the burden of the debt.

[moksha]

They should bear disproportionately less of the burden than the wealthy. The "sides" should not be drawn as entitlement reform and tax increases, with each sharing equal burden. It should not be equal.

It should be equitable. The lower and middle class are already more burdened than we should ask anyone to be. It is time for the wealthy to be burdened. Burden for the wealthy does not mean the same as burden for the poor. The rich have a many many rounds of burden increases before they will actually suffer.

The poor have suffered long enough. It is telling that the debate on the debt and deficit is allowed to be defined as 'entitlements' vs. 'tax increases'. Especially when you look at how many would actually be impacted on each side.

There are more of us on the low to middle class side that are already carrying a disproportionate share of this mess. It should be the turn of long time beneficiaries to feel the pain. It is not us vs. them. It is not poor vs. rich.

It is the many vs. the few. The few are very powerful and do will not give up the reigns of power easily. I'm not offering a solution, I don't know how to stop it. But, the facade is crumbling, institutions are failing.

edit: corrected homophone error. h/t to sinking feeling.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Psst.... it's 'bear the burden' not 'bare'.

bear 1 (bâr)
v. bore (bôr, br), borne (bôrn, brn) or born (bôrn), bear·ing, bears
v.tr.
1. To hold up; support.
2. To carry from one place to another; transport.
3. To carry in the mind; harbor: bear a grudge.
4. To transmit at large; relate: bearing glad tidings.
5. To have as a visible characteristic: bore a scar on the left arm.
6. To have as a quality; exhibit: "A thousand different shapes it bears" (Abraham Cowley).
7. To carry (oneself) in a specified way; conduct: She bore herself with dignity.
8. To be accountable for; assume: bearing heavy responsibilities.
9. To have a tolerance for; endure: couldn't bear his lying.
10. To call for; warrant: This case bears investigation.
11. To give birth to: bore six children in five years.
12. To produce; yield: plants bearing flowers.
13. To offer; render: I will bear witness to the deed.
14. To move by or as if by steady pressure; push: "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (F. Scott Fitzgerald).

[moksha]

2. Thanks for that polite correction. I will edit. Apparently I'm homophonic.

[indepat]

3. The grand plan/bargain with the repugs, as laid bare, is for the old, frail, and poor to

bear all the burden: this shared sacrifice is euphemistic crapola, i.e., pure male bovine excrement layered on as thick as almost frozen molasses. :patriot:

[moksha]

4. Thanks for the recs!

[BeFree]

5. One example: Gas Taxes

A millionaire may pay $100 dollar a year in gas taxes, the same as someone who makes $20k a year. Do the percentages and see that the poor bears a higher burden.

The only way to equalize that is through income taxes.

It is why, the poor pay a lower amount in individual income taxes.
We do have some fairness left, and this example shows how a flat tax would weigh greatly upon the poor, but weigh nothing on a millionaire.