Two excellent reasons to OPPOSE gay marriage in the UK

[Ryantology]

Well, I think this highlights a misunderstanding of the point of taxation. It isn't supposed to leave people with the same (or even similar) amount of money to themselves; the function of taxation is to fund government and society.

I did not think this had anything to do with the point of taxation.

There is nothing inherently unfair about a millionaire being left with more money than they could ever spend after being taxed, whilst I do think it is unfair to leave a person with less money than they need to survive after being taxed. At the end of the day, a millionaire isn't at fault for earning that much (unless they earn it through illegal means), so there is no reason to punish them for it.

The alternative is punishing the poor for not being millionaires by requiring them to pay an amount which is, relative to their situation, vastly larger. If you view taxation as a punishment, that is. I think of it as the price of admission for living in a civilized society. I pay taxes, and some people pay less of a percentage than I do. Is that fair? Maybe it's not, but I don't care, and I should care far less if my wealth approached grotesque levels.

The thing is, 'fairness' is a really flexible term. Is fair always right? What could be more fair than to distribute wealth equally to everyone, so that nobody has more than anybody else? But, of course, not every job requires equal education. It would be unfair to pay a burger flipper as much as a neurosurgeon, right? But, of course, while working in a fast food restaurant is far from mentally challenging, it is hard, tiring and soul-crushing work, so why is it fair that a burger flipper makes half as much as someone who sits in a comfortable, air conditioned office all day doing paperwork? Someone who does my job in India or China probably makes a fraction of what I do. Simply having the fortune to live in an advanced society has given me benefits many people around the world could never enjoy. Is that fair? I also very likely pay more in taxes than they do. Is that fair? That's why I do not think it is very unfair for the wealthy to pay more of their money than I do, all other things considered. The simple possession of their wealth grants them benefits in the economy, society and politics, entirely outside getting and spending, that I could not reasonably ever hope to enjoy.

The problem, many times, with fairness is that there are often several competing standards of fairness on most topics. Which one should predominate in this? I advocate progressive taxation not because it is fair numerically, but because it has the least negative practical impact upon the greatest number of people.