No way we get rid of progressive tax rates with them engrained in the fabric of society. But if you were starting from scratch, why are they fair? If you make 10 times what I make, why isn’t it fair that you pay 10 times the taxes that I pay. One answer given is you can afford to pay more. But that is true of everything. Should you be forced to subsidize my food, housing, utilities, transportation, clothing, etc? There would be logistical issues with that (benefit of the government force with taxes is significant but doesn’t exist at the grocery store). But assuming those logistics can be addressed, is it fair to make those with more pay more for everything thereby subsidizing those with less? If not, why is it fair for taxes?
There is an element of progressive taxation in college funding as well.