We face the biggest financial crises our generation has seen. Solving this crises will require time and hard work.

There are many reasons why our country is facing financial problems. Over leveraged financial institutions, bad lending decisions and living beyond our means to name a few. But one overlooked reason is the tax burden placed upon the middle class. The middle class controls 1% of the wealth but pay 60% of the taxes.

The reason for this inequity in our tax system is wealth creation driven by ingenuity and hard work is taxed at nearly three times the rate of wealth created by the ownership of capital. Washington created an environment that rewards the excesses of leverage while limiting the profits made by ingenuity and the sweat of one's brow.

Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world, noted this when he commented that his secretary's tax rate is much higher that his own. It is no wonder that the richest one percent controls 99% of the wealth yet contribute only 40% of federal taxes.

The favorable tax rates on wealth have exacerbated the credit crisis. Loans which are securitized become investments and are subject to capital gains taxes. During the 90's Wall Street had an unquenchable appetite for these securities. This created cheap and easy credit in which people were allowed and even encouraged to acquire debt until they were in over their heads.

Washington is learning that they cannot count on the middle class to continue to be the economic engine of our economy. The days in which consumer spending contributes to 70% of our economy are coming to a close. The over taxed middle class can no longer pay their bills and their home mortgages. They are awashed in debt.

Yet while the middle class taxpayer is fighting to make ends meet, the corporate titans and fund managers are lobbying to have their taxes reduced. The ones who profited most from leverage investing and are holding out their hands for taxpayers to bail them out want more tax breaks to start the cycle again.

If 2008 has taught us anything it is that tax policy can have a major impact on us and the nation as a whole. The policies from Washington should not be driven by blind ideologies but by the facts and circumstances on the ground. Taxes need to be fair to all. This is a proposition which always seems to be easier said than done.