re: Identity Politics are being used to divide this Country like no other time

The rich pay a share of collected taxes than they did in 1980. That's true.

What's also true is they pay a lower rate than they did in 1980. Why is that? Because we've structured rules and taxes to inflate their income and depress the income of the majority of Americans.

The top capital gains tax was near 30% in 1980. It's 15% now. The rules that discouraged abuse at the top and encouraged investment have been gutted or eliminated, and now even with the lower tax rates the richest Americans are extracting such an inflated compensation compared to contribution that they end up paying more.

There's no reason why a bailed out airline should be able to do stock buybacks that accomplish nothing but inflating stock prices and increasing executive compensation. Instead refs should encourage investing in research, saving so they don't need another bailout, and/or hiring and compensating employees. The system is sick not simply because of tax law, but because the rules that incentivised beneficial economic activity are no longer in place.