In any discussion of taxes I think it's important to consider the significant asymmetry between state and federal taxes. The incentives created by the policy c

In any discussion of taxes I think it's important to consider the significant asymmetry between state and federal taxes. The incentives created by the policy change in the article are difficult to anticipate, with reasonable arguments for and against. It would be significantly better if most of the important tax policy decisions were made at the state level, so that the consequences could be better understood. I live in a high tax state, and hear people complain about the high state taxes. But my state taxes are a tiny fraction of the massive burden caused by Federal taxes. Most of the Federal budget is due to pentagon spending that is not auditable by design. Since I have lived in several states I feel completely comfortable evaluating the ROI of my state tax dollars, but have very little confidence that the lion's share of my tax dollars (Federal) are being spent wisely or judiciously. I pay more in Federal taxes now than I earned in an entire year just a few years ago, and I'm not wealthy at all, barely middle or perhaps upper middle class in a major US metropolitan area. It puzzles me that so many people defend high Federal taxes. I don't know how high or how progressive taxes should be to be "correct", but I do know that Federal programs and appropriations are orders of magnitude less transparent than state and local spending. I would happily invert the two so that the state got most of the money to do things like fixing the highways that cause hours of gridlock almost every day, or removing the lead and chemicals from the drinking water. Capital gains tax debates try to make people adopt class warfare stances on what is fair, when the ones getting the best deal are the firms who steal billions via Pentagon spending.