A just way to fix state budgets

All 50 states have regressive tax structures: the lower your
income, the larger share of it goes to state taxes. While a few states have
flat income-tax rates--here in Illinois, everyone pays 5 percent--most are
mildly progressive (higher rates for higher income). But when you throw in
regressive sales, property and excise taxes, each state's total tax burden
falls hardest on those with the least to spare.

Meanwhile, states are facing major budget crises, requiring
drastic spending cuts, revenue increases or both.

Via Ethics Daily,
United for a Fair Economy offers a solution to both problems: invert the tax
structure to make it progressive--and raise more money. A new report
from the anti-inequality group analyzes data from each state and calculates how
much more money could be raised if you split the population into fifths by
income and then flipped the overall state tax rates.