Agreed, ¾ is a high upper bound. Let's say 60% instead, which would be someone who pays a lot of junk taxes -- for instance in some jurisdictions (including mine, though I don't know about Westchester) there's a personal property tax on automobiles, boats etc. So if you have a nice car collection, or an expensive boat, you have a colossal additional local tax bill, beyond your real-estate tax... In any case, I think we can agree 50% is a very reasonable estimate. As to whether spending ½ your life working for Caesar is "right" -- that's a moral judgment you and I can respectfully differ on. But as I always ask my liberal friends -- what level of taxation would be too much? If ½ isn't enough, is there any ceiling, or is the answer always more more more?