On the distribution of wealth/income

[Ted King]

davester wrote:
That would be a much more helpful graph if it was matched with an identically formatted income graph. The top quintile is paying almost 70% (declining in the last decade) of federal taxes according to that graph. However, if the top quintile's income has skyrocketed during the period (which I'm pretty sure it has), then the stable to declining tax share means that the burden has shifted to the lower classes and the rich are getting a free ride.

That's true, but it never-the-less is the case that since the wealthy are paying such a big chunk of the revenue that runs the government, it still amounts to a redistribution of income from wealthier to the less wealthy. That was the point I was making in the part of the OP you quoted.