Questions for Jim:

Do you know what the term "market wage" actually means? What happens if you artificially knock that up or down?

Exactly what is a "living wage?" How is it decided, and by who? In all the years I've seen the term, it's never been quantified other than in vague terms.

For the record, the U.S. has the highest average employment income on the planet, measured either as gross or disposable.

Do you know where the income split between the top and bottom 50 percent actually is? Tax documents put the AGI at a bit over $32,000.

Is everyone above that level not really a "worker?" How about the top 25 percent, above $66,000. Is everyone over that level a "parasite?" (Anybody's ears burning here?) How about the top 10 percent, that starts at $112,000?

What would that bottom 50 percent do in Galt's Gulch? Build factories, roads, and power plants? How? Who will pay the taxes in this paradise, and how much will they be?

A reminder: the first three quintiles right now (bottom 60 percent) pay about 14 percent of all Federal taxes, including payroll. First two quintiles, 5 percent. I don't have numbers for 50 percent exactly, but it'll be somewhere between those.

If you're going to build that new civilization, either somebody's going to get a major tax hike in Galt's Gulch, or you're going to have to figure out a new way to do things.