"The United States may possess a shrinking middle class, but the number of its citizens who consider themselves middle class (because they can't face that they'

"The United States may possess a shrinking middle class, but the number of its citizens who consider themselves middle class (because they can't face that they're rich) may actually be growing. " When you live in a place like Chicago, with a city sales tax alone of 11%, $250,000/year (among other taxes) might not be considered wealthy. Wealth is relative. A job in the midwest for $100,000/year will go much further than a Job in the Bay area for the same. Nearly half of all people in the US don't pay federal income tax: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0&.v=1 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-a... Before we start taxing the rich even more than they are already paying, we should figure out how to get tax revenue from the people that aren't paying. This will never happen because the democrats don't want to lose votes (taxing the rich always seems to be the only answer to getting more revenue). Everyone should also get taxed the same percentage. This way, everyone knows what it feels like.