CNBC: Jeff Bezos says bottom half of earners should pay zero in income taxes

[dickthegrouch]

11. I don't understand. Why isn't this a good thing?

I read that as saying that the bottom half of the current taxpayers (who only contribute about 3% of the total, anyway) should NOT be paying any taxes.

That seems like a good thing to me.

I have previously written that the tax allowance should be variable per district according to housing prices, and other fixed costs in that area. The same $15000(ish) taxation threshold applies across the entire country now, but fixed living costs are highly variable. Federal taxation makes no acknowledgement of that. Perhaps higher wages in those areas make up some of the difference, but ONLY if one is lucky enough to be earning that higher wage. Federal minimum wage is $7.50 an hour. I don't believe there's anywhere in the country that someone could exist (far less live) on that.