I'm a little surprised at all of those who said they are not in favor of wealth re-distribution. Do you really want a flat tax with no exemptions? That would be devastating to a lot of folks, probably many close friends and relatives of yours.
I wish our income taxes where more progressive. When you take into account all taxes (sales, real estate, ect.) our taxes are quite regressive.
I agree with your friend, the high income individual should pay more and its fair because the rules are the same for every person. Also they gain more from the system and have more to loose if the system crumbles. And i'm not worried about the world falling apart because noone will create jobs anymore if we raise taxes a few percent. Lots of other countries (just as prosperous as US) have higher tax rates and jobs are still created.
The rich paying a little more tax is a small price to pay to avoid another civil war.
Flame away
