Comment by tibbon

Just to correct you a little, its nowhere near half of the your income. Marginal tax rate is 39.6% for a single filer for income in excess of $400k. Of course the majority of states have sales tax, and there's other taxes (state, property, petrol, etc) down the line as well. For some people, it may approach a total of 50% taxation, but that is a tiny tiny minority. And its not like most people making over $400k actually pay that tax rate on all their income, given that we have exceedingly generous deductions and other classes of tax (capital gains, which is a favorite of the rich) that are significantly lower than the marginal rate on standard income.

I'd like to know more about regulations preventing people from working (especially those in the top tax bracket).

I, for one, enjoy our decent roads, overall stability, and "social good" programs. I pay a pretty decent amount in taxes, but its really never bothered me one bit.