Open your copy of Word. Type equitable. Block it in. Go to tools, then thesaurus (may need intermediate steps depending on version). You will find listed as synonyms:

FAIR,
reasonable,
impartial,
just,
unbiased

And yes there are some obvious contradictions with regard to this debate.

And of course it makes perfect sense with the wealthy having so many benefits already that they must be the ones with the first priority in adjusting any perceived issues of fairness.

I don't think their tax burden is unfair at all. A lot of American's pay a price for America's ruthless drive for efficiency in terms of lay offs and stagnant wages. The economy as a whole benefits however and despite inflation adjusted numbers indicating stagnant wages I think underlying increases in efficiency have raised most people's quality of life including a large portion of the poor. However, the wealthiest (relative term here not to be confused with rich) Americans starting around the top 10 % and accelerating rapidly have gained far more with relatively little pain. There is nothing in the precepts of capitalism that mandate this. Achieving wealth is supposed to be the motivation not continuous escalation of the wealth's piece of the pie.

The taxes paid provide a safety net for those that suffer the downside of our dynamic and prosperous economy. Some people claim what is fair is from each according to his abilities to each according to his needs. That sounds just as intrinsically fair as everyone pays the same percentage in taxes. It is a disaster in practice for two reasons. It provides no strong motivation to work hard and it requires stifling control of the economy. Unbridled greed also has hugely negative potential effects. I honestly think recent tax law changes have created a climate of excessive greed by making it easy to amass huge amounts of money in short periods of time by gimmicks rather than real contributions to the economy.

Regards,
Mark