Declining marginal utility, progressive taxes, and fairness
2nd March 2008
David Friedman is always worth reading.
The whole subject of what constitutes “fair” taxation is insoluble, because different people have different ideas of what constitutes “fair”.
Most regressives think that “fair” means we all wind up with exactly the same. If that were ever to happen then all progress would STOP because progress requires investible surplus somewhere in society. (Which is why “progressive” is even more of an oxymoron than “Democrat”.)
The problem lies with those who don’t accept the premise that “fair” means that different levels of effort or thought ought to receive different levels of reward. Those who do not accept that premise exclude themselves from argument, because there is no common ground, which is what a real argument (as opposed to a quarrel) requires.