This is where economics can become an art. Extremely successful people tend to work for passion more than money. A progressive tax system would not lower outpu

This is where economics can become an art. Extremely successful people tend to work for passion more than money. A progressive tax system would not lower output in this case. Think Warren Buffet. There is a swath of upper income folks who can throttle their work to their own personal marginal utility. A lawyer can choose to work for a low pressure firm for a great (not lucrative) salary. An IBanker can choose a less demanding M&A position at an established company for a substantial paycut. A doctor can choose a hospitalist position over private practice (or regulate his/her hours/# patients at their private practice). An entrepreneur can cash out of his first company and choose to not start another company. The restauranteur can be content with launching 2 successful restaurants. Now the trick is how do you ensure the tax code does not stop these professionals from performing that extra effort. For many 400k a year looks like a striking sum but typically these folks are killing themselves for salaries in that range. Most could easily throttle back to a 200k salaried position.