No, it doesn't mean that, because income tax isn't the only tax (or even the only tax on incomes, as the payroll tax, which is regressive, also exists, and, on top of that, forms of income that tend to be distributed more to the richest -- long term cap gains -- have preferential tax treatment over other income), and because while the nominal rates are progressive the distribution of deductions and credits (including refundable credits) are not.
The real bias in the tax code is, perhaps unsurprisingly, around the median income, where many expenses that the poor do not incur to the same degree (home ownership, college tuition, IRAs) are highly subsidized, with most credits and deductions dropping off as you hit a higher income level.
Most people are not like you. They have a home country that they care strongly about and want it protected. If that means killing some terrorists in a desert, so be it. And if a few people in said desert end up getting killed by mistake (and they tend to give benefit of the doubt to the drone operator) - that's war. Perhaps they shouldn't be hanging out near the terrorists.
My point is not to say whether this view is right or wrong - but to explain that the 'majority' who support the drone strikes understand what is going on and are ok with it.
I agree some do, but it's wrong to suggest all do. I think mostly people are uninformed (certainly in the US). Actually I'm headed to Portugal in a week or so, if you're in Lisbon or north do send me an email and we can have a drink :)
This is a feature of the design of the U.S. federal government. The framers of the Constitution were very familiar with the history of governments and knew that direct democracy was a disaster. It devolves into mob rule, and let's face it, most people don't know much about most things.
Chomsky says that the lower 70% of the population has no effect on policy, but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. The U.S. system of income taxation is progressive and refundable, meaning that there is substantial transfer of wealth from the richest people to the poorest. The upper income brackets pay a disproportionately large percentage of all income taxes.
U.S. states fund universal public education through high school; a policy that benefits the poor and middle class far more than the rich, who can afford to send their children to private schools. Health care funding like Medicare and Medicaid
I'm not saying that these are bad! Just that they demonstrate the extent to which U.S. policy does benefit a broader swath of the population than you might think from reading this essay.
Ironically, some of the things that Noam Chomsky likes the least are in fact popular with a majority of the U.S. population. Pew reports that 61% of American citizens approve of the drone assassination program, for instance [1].
[1] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/25/big-gender-g...