Columnist Michael Lauck is right that tax reform is needed.

Unfortunately, his proposals for much-needed tax reform are short-sighted. Neither flat nor lump sum taxes are answers for tax reformation. Repealing our present tax system for a flat tax, whether the FairTax or a lump sum tax, is hardly a benefit to anybody but the wealthy in fact. Flat tax proposals, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, increase taxes for the bottom 95 percent. The only benefits seen are for those with an average income of nearly $245,000. In short, the top 4 percent get a tax cut while the rest pay more. While Mr. Lauck is accurate in noting that people deserve the money they make, it is unconscionable to ask the rest of us pay more while the super-rich ultimately pay less. While we need reform, the progressive income tax in place is necessary for making sure that the least of us get a fair share of the market game. There is every reason to believe that our tax system should be reformed. Substantial tax reform, if done right, could benefit all Americans, and possibly make taxes much lower for those most in need of a break.

James Russell is a former TCU student from Fort Worth, a graduate of the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute and former intern with the Institute for Policy Studies’ Inequality and the Common Good project.