Two items on taxes caught my eye today.

1.  Economix at the New York Times asks on 13 April 2009 Just How Progressive is the Tax System?

When you add in all taxes (federal, state, local), the tax system is not as progressive as one might have thought. Look at the graphs.

2.  On 15 April 2009, Berkeley public policy professor Robert Reich posts on his blog, A Short Citizen’s Guide to Kooks, Demagogues, and Right-Wingers on Tax Day, which addresses common myths promulgated by people on the Right. [By the way, I think the double entendre in the post’s title is intentional.] Reich ends with the following:

True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.

A little bit of history from Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong. In the 15 April 2009 edition of The Week, DeLong wrote The Panic of 1825 in which he describes how the Bank of England overstepped its authority by lending money to a bank in the midst of runs of the banks. This quelled the panic and established a valuable precedent.