The financial/credit crisis is drying up equity and putting homeowners upside-down in their mortgages, making student loans more difficult to get, and dimming prospects for retirement among many workers.

Even though the United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, employers pay these workers less than workers who hold similar jobs elsewhere. Child-care workers here earn less than housekeepers – a sad example of economic priorities that are simply out of order.

According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, middle class families are feeling the squeeze. They aren’t alone – the budget prognosis for many states isn’t good. But a recent Gallup poll shows Americans are now more “redistributionist” than they were at the end of the Great Depression.

If we’re going to solve market failures and live without fear for our economic security, we need to make shared investments in public structures – like education, transportation and health.

Taxes are a condition of liberty, and it’s time Washington had a fairer tax structure that promotes shared prosperity for our common future.