TAD DEHAVEN: The Something-for-Nothing Quandary.

Most of the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts has focused on whether to extend slightly lower marginal rates for higher earners who already bear a huge burden. But at the other end of the income spectrum, a growing share of Americans don’t pay income taxes. Indeed, the Bush tax cuts increased the share of U.S. households that pay no income taxes. . . .

As the price of something drops, the demand increases. For a growing share of Americans, government services are effectively “free,” so they are demanding even more and policymakers are giving it to them.

Everyone — at least, everyone who votes — should pay something and that something should go up or down with federal spending. Some earlier thoughts on that here.