That bastion of liberal democracy, that foundation of American society, the middle class, is being threatened on two fronts--and from history we are well aware it is disastrous to fight such a war.

First, there was Bush's recent tax cut speech. Well, no one can say the middle class didn't see it coming. But if this $1.6 trillion behemoth actually crashes to earth, the effect on the middle class will be catastrophic. With 40 percent of the reductions being absorbed by the wealthiest one percent of American families and with inequality on the rise since the 70s, the tax cut alone may reduce the middle class to memory.

But we're facing hostility on the home front as well. Harvard announced a 3.5 percent increase in college tuition last week--the first time in nine years that the annual percentage increase has risen. Okay, so our tuition has gone up again. Nobody expected it would fall. And with the increase in financial aid--that extra $2,000 they tossed our way--nobody should be complaining, right?

Well, no, actually, that's the problem. What high tuition and high financial aid is supposed to amount to, essentially, is a progressive tax on higher education. The more you can pay, the more you do, just like income taxes. But, unlike income taxes, the percentage of your income you pay declines dramatically after you pass a certain mark. In other words, someone whose family is very wealthy will find that Harvard tuition eats up only a small percent of his or her family income. Someone who is on that mark (where Harvard determines your "need") will find that Harvard tuition has a dramatic effect on his or her family finances.

In fact, Harvard tuition acts more like a regressive tax, penalizing those who are poorer, up until the point that you qualify for financial aid, at which point you, at least theoretically, have all your need met.

Regressive taxes under George W. Bush's new plan, regressive tax under Harvard's tuition hike--now do you see the problem?

Well, maybe you don't see the danger to our democracy. Briefly, the more inequality there is in society, the lower the likelihood of democracy. Hence Jefferson's ideal of an agrarian utopia.

Maybe in America we're immune from the dangers of inequality because of our wonderful democratic ideology or our tremendous social mobility (how tremendous will it be if the estate tax is rescinded?). But do you really want to bet on it?