[devonkim]

The argument is not complete only looking at the amount paid - you must account for what assets and income people get taxed upon. If the top 10% own 80% of all the income and assets, if they're paying about 40% of all the income and assets in the country (not an actual figure, just using for sake of cohesive argument), they are not paying their fair share. Then there's the fact that most high net worth individuals do not have most of their income from direct work anymore as much as passive income through stocks - the few exceptions are Hollywood celebs and similar that wind up getting taxed quite heavily. For example, most people's assets are primarily a single home and a retirement account in the form of a 401k or fixed income via pensions and social security, but this isn't similar to the asset distribution of the wealthy today almost ever. In fact, I remember someone noted how pro athletes that spend their money like how normal people do in direct proportion would wind up bankrupt quickly.