Here's The Moral Basis For Progressive Taxation

[rogerashton]

7. But I didn't miss your fallacy.

Yes, you made the case that the rich are not self-made. So far as I know, nobody except a few rich thugs think they are.

But that does not justify progressive taxes. Your argument is something like this:

Major Premise: "If fortunes were self-made, then progressive taxation would be wrong."

Minor Premise: "Fortunes are not self-made"

Conclusion: "Progressive taxation is right."

But there is a double fallacy here. If the conclusion was "Progressive taxation is not wrong." then it would be a fallacy of denying the antecedent. (Perhaps that is what you meant, not quite clear.)

In addition, of course, going from "Progressive taxation is not wrong" to "Progressive taxation is right" is a further fallacy, affirming a disjunct.

Like you, I used cellphones only as an example. Chill out, dude.