Barack Obama’s tax plan calls for a reduction of taxes on middle-class families (families that earn less than $250,000), and the ending of Bush’s tax cuts for the high income earners.
Is this “fair?” I don’t think anybody “wants” to pay taxes. But taxes are a necessary evil; in order for government to operate, someone has to pay them.
In considering how the tax burden should be distributed, these graphs provide some useful perspective:
Source: The American Prospect, October 2008
Income for the top 5% of income earners has gone up almost 100% since 1980, but the share of federal taxes they pay has gone up by less than 60% during that time.
I wish we didn’t have to tax the rich, or anybody. But since the 1980s, it seems they’re the only ones making more money.
All Other Persons 
Furthermore, does this include payroll taxes. I hate it when I hear people complain how the poor don’t pay taxes. They’re certainly paying into Social Security and Medicare.
FYI: I’ve changed my blog title to kingpolitics.com from blackpoliticalanalysis.com
The number for “all federal taxes includes” includes social insurance taxes, like SSN.
A detail of the tax burden distribution is here:
http://www.american.com/archive/2008/october-10-08/america-has-a-highly-progressive-tax-system