Cheney's $2m tax refund got me thinking about our contributions to society [View All]

From the outside it looks like what Dick did is get enough royalties from all of the businesses he has relationships with and rolled the bulk of that money into 'charities' of his choosing. Essentially, the money he 'contributed' is not going to become part of the system that supports most of the necessary functions of government. That must be the same for the wealthiest 1%-2% of Americans who hold the majority of our country's dollars, who got 70%-80% of the tax refunds throughout the Bush terms.

That would seem to leave the support of our nation's essential services, including defense, in the hands of the vast majority of Americans who have been documented as carrying the bulk of the tax burden.

Bottom line? If you're wealthy, you will not be required to make any contributions to the functioning of our government and the essential services and obligations that most Americans rely on to survive and prosper. You can pick and choose whatever segment, entity, business, etc., that benefits you or your benafactors, and our government will consider your obligation to our country paid in full.

Which of Dick's 'contributions' actually helped our country? I'd be interested in doing that analysis. It might bring some perspective to those of us who struggle with our own tax burdens.