th exactness. The
standard of equality cannot be applied in any literal sense to strong
and weak, to rich and poor. It is possible, however, to interpret
equality with reference not to objective goods, but to the psychic
sacrifice occasioned by taxation. Ability is of many kinds and may
be differently understood. Some think ability to bear taxation is
"in exact proportion to the money income"; others believe that it
increases at a greater rate than money income, and favor, therefore,
progressive taxation, that is, higher rates on the larger incomes.

Sec. 12. #Social welfare as the aim.# The conflicting interests of
the various classes of taxpayers in each period are to some degree
softened by the prevailing public opinion, sometimes called the social
conscience, and taxes are adjusted according to a vaguely held
ideal of the social welfare. Social expediency, more or less broadly
interpreted, determines who shall be taxed and what social results are
to be sought. The exemptions from taxation in feudal times were great
and, viewed from our standpoint, were inequitable, for the upper
classes escaped while the peasants bore most of the burdens. The
landlords and nobility, who were assumed to be performing important
social functions, generally had outgrown their usefulness in the
period preceding the French Revolution, which swept away many of these
abuses.

Exemptions from taxation are granted liberally in most states to-day
on some kinds of wealth and to some classes of citizens, because
of their supposed relations to the public interest. Real estate and
equipment devoted to educational, religious, and charitable purposes,
the homes of priests and ministers, homesteads purchased with pension
money, as well as all public lands, buildings, and equipment are
exempt.

The social interest requires that taxes be both elastic and
productive, so that the needs of the government shall be amply
provided for. The harmonizing of these needs in the laws of taxation
requires a high degree of wisdom, of foresight, and of integrity
in the legislator and in the citizen. No hard-and-fast rule for the
apportioning of taxes can be laid down. The decision must be made in
each generation by the public opinion as to what is most expedient for
the general welfare.

Sec. 13. #Principles of administration.# Whatever forms of taxes are
adopted, whether on property or income, whether at proportional or
at progressive rates, their justice and