why is raising taxes on the rich considered redistribution of wealth? isn't the government running at a deficit? is redistribution considered taking more from the rich and taking less from the poor? isn't it all still taking? There is no giving, it's just taking less. Except, which I could see, when there is no tax at all to take. But then again, was there that much to take to begin with? Has someone done the math? Can the IRS even do the math? Given the tax plan by Obama, figure out the income of the US government from taxes, apply the changes as described, and see what the changes mean to the bottom line? Why can't someone figure this out? This is all stored somewhere at the IRS, right? I mean, I should be able to see exactly how much the government got from tax revenue for the last year, right? how hard would that be? more curious to see if it's an increase or decrease in revenue.