Skin in the game.

That's the phrase I kept going back to when I thought about what I would write about last week's debate between GOP Senate hopefuls Todd Akin and Sarah Steelman. The two are vying to unseat U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat. A third Republican, former Germ-X chief John Brunner was invited but did not attend.

The debate was aired on KTRS (550 AM) and broadcast live on Facebook. It was moderated by the radio station's McGraw Milhaven and Jo Mannies, political reporter for the St. Louis Beacon, the event's cosponsor. It was held at the Missouri Athletic Club in Town and Country.

Milhaven had asked the two candidates if they thought it fair that a millionaire like Mitt Romney could pay a tax rate of 15 percent while so many Americans pay much higher rates on their salaries.

It's the same question billionaire Warren Buffet asked recently. Buffet pointed out that his rate was less than what his cleaning lady paid. Romney and Buffet pay a tax on capital gains, which is levied on earnings from stocks and real estate. The capital gains tax is 15 percent. People who earn a salary, like Buffet's cleaning lady, pay a progressively higher rate.

Akin's response was to state that 47 percent of Americans don't pay any tax and the top 1 percent already pay over 40 percent of total taxes paid in the nation. He said he supports a flat tax on income, with some adjustment for the "very poor."

Steelman said she wants both income and capital gains taxes lowered. The goal, she had, is to have more taxpayers paying at least something so they have 'skin in the game."

Which made me wonder: At what income do you not pay federal income tax? At what level do you not have skin in the game?

If you're single and under 65 you can earn as much as $9,500 without paying.

If you're the head of a household and both spouses are under 65 it's $19,000.

Is this where we need to look for greater tax-policy equity?

My impression is that incomes are growing in disparity in this country. I've read astounding figures on how much more CEOs make than their employees, and that the drift is increasing.

Two studies say the ratio is either 185 to one or 325 to one. It's not at an all-time high, which occurred some 10 years ago, but the disparity steadily has grown since 1964, when it was estimated at 24 to 1.

An MSN Money story earlier this month looked at only seven top-paid CEOs and found ratios up to 2,500 to 1, with some CEOs making $33,000 to $48,000 per hour.

In 2010, of the 100 highest-paid corporate CEOs in the United States 25 took home more in pay than their company paid in federal income taxes, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, an organization considered left of center.

According to this group, in 1945 U.S. corporate income taxes totaled 35 percent of all federal government revenue. In 2010, that figure was 9 percent.

That precipitous drop is not due to low U.S. corporate tax rates. Actually, U.S. rates are high when viewed globally. But what is happening in the United States is that corporations find legal ways to pay little in taxes. In some cases they earn billions and pay nothing. They employ a legion of accountants and lawyers to partake of every tax incentive and every tax break. For example, there are tremendous incentives now to develop green energy.

One corporate tool is to create shell companies in foreign countries considered tax havens.

It's all legal. Congress writes the tax rules and the corporations write the campaign checks.

Some economists say the widening gap between the richest and poorest does not bode well for our future. They predict the disparity will make it increasingly difficult to find political solutions to our economic woes. They predict that the growing income disparity will make periods of economic expansion shorter.

The reality is that we live in an era when a CEO makes hundreds of times more than a typical employee who works for him or her. We live in an era when a CEO can make more in an hour than an employee can in a year.

I wonder what the disparity ratio was between Louis the XVI and his subjects?

POKIN AROUND Steve Pokin is a columnist for the Suburban Journals. He can be reached at spokin@yourjournal.com or by phone at 314-744-5704. His column is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PokinAround.