How the other half lives

Blinding flash of the obvious here:

The tandem rise in government-benefits recipients and fall in taxpayers has been cause for alarm among some policymakers.

Ya think?  To be more specific:

Families were more dependent on government programs than ever last year.
Nearly half, 48.5%, of the population lived in a household that received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2010, according to Census data...

High unemployment and increased reliance on government programs has also shrunk the nation’s share of taxpayers. Some 46.4% of households will pay no federal income tax this year, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

This is, of course, an unsustainable system... one in which there is a substantial overlap between those receiving the most benefits while having the least "skin in the game."  It is this condition, which flies in the face of any sort of notion of "equality before the law," that brought me to start advocating reforms like these:

- No person receiving welfare benefits (unemployment, etc) should have active voting privileges.  If you are not self-supporting, you need to mind and improve your own affairs, not tinker around with mine.

- EVERY household should pay taxes and thus have a stake in public policy.  To me, the least unfair (and potentially corrupting) approach would be a flat tax (with no system of deductions) on all income over a certain amount (like the poverty line, for instance).  Exempt the minimum needed to self-sustain, then tax everything over that at the same rate for everyone, with no loopholes or social engineering shenanigans.

Oh... and no tax increase should be able to go into effect before the next scheduled election... which should always be held in the same month that tax revenue is due.  April and November are entirely too far apart...