Tax Day reflection: let's cut spending and raise taxes

Political parties have an (outrageous, in my view) tendency to take a zero-tolerance approach to even the most sensible legal reform that is perceived to intrude on one of the party's sacred issues.  For Dems, don't even try a pilot school voucher programs for needy kids or limit the grisly and widely abhorred practice of partial-birth abortion.  For the GOP, it now seems that the party has reached a near-consensus on an issue that holds significant peril (in my view) for the country going forward: taxes can be cut, but never raised.  I know I've jumped onto this soap box already, but since it's Tax Day and there are new statistics available, I think it's worth revisiting the conversation.  

Given the rhetoric about taxes coming from leading Republicans, a visitor from another era would think that we are currently laboring under oppressive tax rates.  I have a hard time seeing an average federal tax rate of 17% as oppressive (9% if we include those who pay no taxes).  Especially for the super-wealthy, these are the golden days.  Government spending needs to be cut significantly, but ruling out any tax increases is irresponsible, especially for those who see the payment of taxes as "part of the duty of solidarity." (Compendium para. 355)  Is the proper rate of taxation a matter for prudential judgment?  Of course, but balancing the budget solely by cutting expenditures will threaten the well-being of society's most vulnerable to such an extent that, in my view, it's pushing the boundaries of legitimate discretion.  I maintain that it is difficult to square an absolutist approach that precludes any possibility of increased tax revenue with the values reflected in CST.

UPDATE: Tax Prof Blog has an interesting paper and comment thread about current corporate tax rates.