As I read the eloquent letter written by our fine upstanding linguist, I was sucked in. I am a middleclass father of 3 that works 2 jobs just to stay afloat. I never have extra money to go and do the “fun” things in life…I don’t even have cable! It looks as though the author of this article has done his homework with all the numbers and quotes. My goodness he sounds smart. But let’s look at common sense for a moment and get back off the land of the loonies. I went to the oracle, otherwise known as Google, and asked, “Who pays the most taxes?” From About.com, Robert Longlev writes, “In 2002 the latest year of available data, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid more than one-half (53.8 percent) of all individual income taxes…” And he continues to say, “The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual income taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent of individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this group’s tax share has grown faster than their income share.” Now where have I heard that 1% number before? Oh yes, that pesky same 1% that earned all of that extra money. But wait…there is more! “Taxpayers who rank in the top 50 percent of taxpayers by income pay virtually all individual income taxes.” Now who is this guy and where does he get his info? Let me see, oh yes here it is…Source: U.S. Treasury, Office of Tax Analysis. For those of you still not getting it, let me lay it out in words that can actually be understood. Those that make a ton of money, pay all of the taxes. We who do not make a ton of money really don’t pay ANY taxes after our precious rebates. So while people complain about the rich getting all of the breaks and the poor getting screwed, the American Dream is being tarnished. Come on people! This is America. We work hard, we strive to make money. Some of us make it, and others of us struggle. It is life. And for all of the writers that love to stir the pot, why don’t you do something? I could be wrong, but I am willing to bet my measly salary that our wonderful artist of words that wrote “The Great Depression: The Sequal” makes more than his average reader. Maybe he should start his dream of equilibrium by forking over a chunk of his salary to you his faithful reader!

OK, let’s talk about bottom lines here. Who are you to say who deserves what money? The beauty of America and capitalism is that if you have a dream, you can follow it and earn a living. You lump all “Super rich” in the same boat as ghastly as a racist lumps an entire race into one fate. There are plenty of single moms that ignore their kids, shirk their responsibilities and live off of the money that I put into the system. So do not sit there and imply that a prerequisite scandalous behavior is to be super rich. Yes there are unscrupulous rich people, as there are in any tax bracket. But the bigger point is that just because someone put their resources to the test and made something of their lives should not mean that they should be raked over the coals by Mr. Reality. I honor those single moms working two jobs…why don’t we pay her more in welfare and less to the crack whores that spit out babies just to get more food stamps. You speak of morality, but that is what is void in today’s society. If you are really looking for a way to “fix” our economy…try praying to the God that our founding fathers prayed to.

Sorry man but you have forgotten even your own words. “The bottom line for people who defend the somewhat rich who pay most of the taxes is this: they don't deserve that money in the first place. It's harsh, but true.” This is a powerful statement. Stop taking your cues from the talking heads by backpedaling on what you say, and start looking at reality.

To the displacement that you have placed me in, I stated firmly that “Yes there are unscrupulous rich people, as there are in any tax bracket.” I am not stating that it is OK to cheat on your taxes, so do not put words in my mouth. I sleep at night because I know that I do work, take care of my wife and kids, pay my taxes and do not cheat on them, and yes I pray to my God…not the gods that you love to pander to.

Pull your head out of your rear and realize that our government…all parties, are not in it for us. People love to blame the other party. I say blame the entire lot of them. America fought a Revolutionary War over less taxation and governmental control than we have today. We the people should stand up and, by force if necessary, take back the control of the system that made this country great. But you lovers of gun control would just flip over that. We are in this economic situation by design. The government hates us having more money and more control than they have. OK call me a nut job…I have heard worse. But if we do not wake up and smell the roses, we are all in for a world of hurt. Mark these words: Whoever the next President is will not matter, we will continue to fall apart as a nation until we realize that our moral standing is shot and needs repair, and we the people must once again control the government. This being unrealistic at best due to the rising number of socialist-atheistic types such as you Mr. Reality, our nation is screwed.