$447 bil

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by shmike

How ironic that the system of taxation began as a way for the rich to subsist off the poor, no?

It might be ironic, if we lived in a feudal agrarian society, but we don't. The world changed. The people, who have the bulk of what is required for survival, changed. "Divine Right" was largely abolished. Democracy was introduced, with its implication that we are all responsible for the business of government.