Should all Americans pay income tax?

When Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said in Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, “Every American benefits by this magnificent country. Absolutely every American should pay something, even if it's a dollar,” she got enthusiastic applause from the crowd in Las Vegas.

Her statement conflicted with what she'd said in a Sept. 22 debate in which she said, "You should get to keep every dollar that you earn. That's your money; that's not the government's money."

But in her comment Tuesday, Bachmann was pointing to a noteworthy fact about the current tax system: many middle-income wage earners pay no income tax. That’s not because they are breaking the law, it’s because legally they are not required to pay.