It makes it sound like a homicide. Fix it, please.

Something about the whole 'progressive tax' thing just seems unfair to me. Some info about me:

- I grew up in a solidly middle-class family. My parents owned a small house and we never went hungry, but we certainly were not wealthy, or even close to it.

- I attended public schools throughout K-12.

- I attended and graduated from a public university. I ended up with a fair amount of debt.

- I then got two graduate degrees, both of which built up some debt as well.

In short, there's nothing extraordinary about my background. At the same time, I feel fortunate to be where I am and recognize things could've been a lot tougher for me. I've played by the rules, saved as much as I could, put off starting a family until later in life, etc., and am now reaping the rewards.

All that said: why should I pay a higher marginal tax rate than a hypothetical person who had the exact same opportunities I had, but is now in a lower-paying job than I am? While I agree that I have a higher -ability- to pay, I have trouble understanding why it's 'fair' that I should. That person could have waited to start a family as well. Or she could have chosen to study a subject where it was easier to get a higher-paying job. Whatever the case, it's hard for me to rationalize that two people with the same opportunities should end up with different outcomes.

I understand how it's different with people who grew up with all of the advantages -- wealthy family, exclusive boarding schools, Ivy League universities, etc. But not for someone who worked their way up the socioeconomic ladder.

I'm not trolling in the least. Please enlighten me.

Film, average rating (out of 10):

Raiders of the Lost Ark: 8.7

Temple of Doom: 7.4

Last Crusade: 8.3

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 7.3

For what it's worth, I'd personally rank them {1, 3, 4, 2}.