And in return provide extensive middle class services. Nobody who wants to get elected in the U.S. can say this, but the middle class here increasingly sees mo

And in return provide extensive middle class services. Nobody who wants to get elected in the U.S. can say this, but the middle class here increasingly sees more benefits from government while paying less and less for them. The poor are screwed by regressive sales and payroll taxes, while the upper classes face much higher average rates due to income cutoffs on a variety of tax credits and deductions. You can argue about payroll vs. state vs. income taxes, but it's indisputable that the income tax which funds government programs has become dramatically more progressive in real terms over the last few decades. Will ACA help the upper class? Not really: they had a low uninsured rate to begin with. Will it help the poor? Not really: They already had Medicaid/CHIP. It's effectively a middle class benefit, and it's paid for largely by increased taxes on the rich. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with taxing the upper class to help the middle class. Maybe it will solve the "problem" of inequality, but I'm not so sure. I think I'd prefer a system where a more generous government requires a more generous citizenry.