The Truth on Taxes, Part One

This post on Democratic Underground neatly demolishes the conservative lie that "the poor don't pay taxes". Taking into account not only the federal income tax but also excise, state sales taxes, and Social Security taxes, the poor contribute in many ways, perhaps even more than their share. 

The phony right wing argument that the poor don't contribute is used as a rhetorical weapon against raising taxes on the "overburdened" rich. We'll be dealing with that separately.