Are we taxing too much or too little?

I'm reading a book called Winner-Take-All Politics, which argues that the rich in America are being benefited by public policy that protects their earnings to the detriment of our economy. The authors argue that, in addition to loopholes in the tax code that already allow for tax avoidance, corporations are being subsidized to such a degree that the seemingly high corporate taxes they owe are virtually eliminated.

Conflicting opinions by some economics suggest that the decline in economic growth in America is a result of high corporate taxation. They point out that only a few other countries have taxation rates as high as ours. I don't know if this is necessarily an accurate position to take. Brazil's economy is developing more swiftly than ours despite higher taxation rates. Ireland has one of the lowest corporate taxation rates in the EU, but it had negative GDP growth and received a tremendous bailout. You also have countries that are apparently a model of corporate taxation like Singapore, and again, you find negative GDP growth. I don't think lower taxation rates necessarily have a huge impact on GDP growth. There must be other factors that play a larger role in a sluggish or bullish economy.

Time for work.

Articles worth checking out

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/05/201151322834765706.html
Reprisals for the killing of Osama Bin Laden have begun, and of course, Pakistani forces take the first blow. This reminds me of two years back, when a Pakistani police academy was assaulted and 90 officers were killed. What followed was a mass exodus of policemen and soldiers who feared they would be next.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2011/05/201151014338715787.html
Osama Bin Laden video memoir, with interviews from those who knew/met with him. There are some strange points brought up, including an extended look into the man's alleged kidney problems.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-industry-executives-defend-tax-breaks-2011-05-12
The game of "don't cut my money" begins. How the hell are we going to cut enough money when we have to go through a battle like this every time?