dictator for life if i was dictator for life, there would be a very simple tax system. there would also be very little in the form of explicit government run social safety net. the little safety net there is would be in the form of regulations. okay, you doctors and hospitals and medical clinics, the following things are free: annual wellness visits, stitches, vaccinations, anti-biotics, casts, etc. you figure out amongst yourselves how to pay for it. so anywho, back to taxes. there'd be a baseline tax credit for every individual, say $5000. so if you didn't make any money cause you were broken or studying, the government would hand you a check. presumably this would be big enough to keep you from starving to death. but not so big that your life would be anything other than pretty darn sucky. that would pretty much replace the social welfare programs in our current budget. ie about half the government's outgo. the other half would be military, debt, education, and research. on the other side of the ledger, personal and corporate income would be taxed at a flat rate. with no deductions. and no special privilege for how that income was generated. what rate exactly? no idea. i'd ask the cbo to estimate a rate that would balance the budget. let's take a guess. the bottom majority pays about half of the total taxes at a total federal tax rate of about 30%. and the top minority pays the other half of the total taxes at a buffet rate of about 17%. which if i can do maths works out to 22%. a tax cut for most. a tax hike for those who can afford it. and a balanced budget. imagine that. timmer for president.  ¶ 8:00 AM