Declare a mistrial! My brain can’t decide if I’m a libertarian or progressive or some bizarre, twisted blend of the two.

I passionately agree that the most reliable, proven path to economically benefitting the most people is by constructing a society that consistently encourages “the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect.”

That belief leads me to question the skewed schedule of effective tax rates in America — where the top 0.5% of wage earners are taxed at a rate that’s more than seven times greater than the bottom 20%, and more than two times greater than the middle 20%.

But I also have to consider after-tax income: For the bottom 20%, it’s $15,300 per year. For the middle 20%, it’s $50,200. And for the top 0.5%, it’s between $830,000 and $24.3 million.

At that point, I’m thinking maybe we could still adequately encourage “the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect,” even if it means reducing their take-home pay a smidge, so it’s somewhere between — oh, I don’t know — a mere $700,000 and $20 million?

Call me crazy. I clearly deserve it.