[Hugh R]

Hey Camb: you said "The part in bold is laughable - can anyone honestly raise their hand and say that the tax rate is their only disincentive to working harder and making more money?"

Actually while its not the only disincentive, it certain is one. My wife and I chose to have her stay at home and only work a local 1/2 day job, as opposed to going back to a full time career making a lot more money for several reasons, including teenagers not being home in the afternoon with out adult supervison. However, between Federal income tax, social security, state income taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, disability insurance taxes, gas and sales taxes on the commute, city parking taxes on parking at work, sales tax on buying lunch, and sales taxes on professional clothing, it all added up to the government taking about 50% of what she would gross in our higher tax bracket. That made our decision for her to stay home in the afternoons a lot easier. So actually while not the "only disincentive" it was certainly a major contributor to our decision.