When a magician creates an illusion, they usually rely on misdirection. That means that they distract you for a moment with something superficial, in hopes that you won't see them pulling the ol' switcharoo with the other hand. See if you can find the misdirection the L.A. Times uses to try to get you to believe that their line of bullshit.

The LA Times is going to great lengths to show that poor people pay just as much tax as rich folks. They argue that when you consider total federal tax, not just income tax, rich folks just aren't paying their fair share.

The conservative worldview inexplicably ignores the payroll tax - predominantly the FICA deductions for Social Security and Medicare - as well as excise taxes on things like liquor, gasoline and tobacco. Those taxes take their biggest bite, proportionally, from lower-income Americans. [...]

The top 1% of American taxpayers earn 17% of the income and pay 23% of total federal taxes; the top 5% earn 31% of the income and pay 40% of the taxes; the bottom 80% of the earners make 41% of the income and pay 31% of the taxes.

First of all, there is an inherent problem with what all they consider "tax". To support their figures, the Times starts throwing all sorts of taxes and fees. They conclude that "regressive" taxes like cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline hit the poor the hardest. Hell, they probably even included lottery tickets. (And just who is it that keeps raising taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline?)

Of course, all these "taxes" are variable and voluntary. They are based on consumption and you have a choice as to whether or not you want to pay the tax. If you want to pay less gas tax, you could take the bus or buy a different car. If you want to eliminate your tax burden from tobacco, you could quit smoking. Not to mention that if a bum is drinking his weight in vodka every day, what do I care if he's paying more tax than me? On the other hand, though, you cannot escape the tax on your annual income. It's collected at the point of a gun.

But the most glaring problem is that even when fudging the numbers, the Times fails to make their point. To support their assertion that poor people are paying tax too, they say "the bottom 80% of the earners make 41% of the income and pay 31% of the taxes." Did you spot the misdirection?

The bottom 80% would include everyone except the top 20%. The bottom 80% includes all of the middle class. It effectively lumps the bottom 50% in with over half of the top 50% of income earners. The bottom 80% is four out of every five people. Where is the figure for the bottom 20%? The bottom 5%? I wonder why they don't put the microscope on those people.

The bottom 80% includes so much of the population, it cannot help but look "modestly progressive" as the Times claims. Why not just claim that the bottom 100% of the earners make 100% of the income and pay 100% of the taxes? That doesn't look progressive at all.