Fairness and Tax Policy: A Response to Mankiw's Proposed "Just Deserts"

I further pursue the proposal of Mankiw to consider fairness or "Just Deserts" as the main guide to tax policy. I suggest very different policy conclusions. In particular, I point out some key assumptions that were left implicit in Mankiw's analysis, and question whether these hold in practice. I then suggest a different formal approach to determining a fair policy.