Obscene Personal Wealth

I've heard that ambition is good but greed is bad. Okay, what happens if everyone earns the same salary regardless of merit. Would that eliminate ambition or greed in an individuals personality. And is the question related to the experience of liquor prohibition in America years ago. Would not equal pay for all workers drive the ambitious and the greedy to (illegally) make money outside of the system.  I am trying to justify our present graduated income tax system where we tax the rich most and the poor least. What is so wrong with that. Is it wrong because it is not fair. Is it wrong because over time too many loop-holes have been added to the original tax code whereby a rich person with a good tax lawyer can easily figure out ways to hide wealth from the income tax collector. Have we created an extreme and unhealthy unfairness in our overall income tax system.

All of those leading questions are intended to criticize our present income tax system and to support a new approach.

First let's agree that a level playing field is not the object.
Secondly, let's agree that merit is a great ideal to base wealth on.
Thirdly, let's also agree that a tax system need not be based on income.

If we can agree on these three fundamentals, I believe a fair tax system can be devised. Suppose we start by really paying attention to systems where a flat tax percentage is applied to all money spent.

The rich and ultra rich usually spend the most and therefore would pay the highest number of taxed dollars.

The poor and the impoverished usually spend the least and therefore would pay the least number of taxed dollars.

It seems so simple there must be a flaw. The flat tax idea has been around for years, and so has the idea of taxing money spent rather than income. There must be some brilliant grad student out there someplace, who has determined how much income tax the Federal Government collects each year, and perhaps studied the distribution of income per year in America our population.

If so, I would appreciate your contacting me.

I want to know if my thinking is impractical or just plain stupid.