Argument for Higher Taxes for the Rich From a Republican
Higher taxes for the rich benefits all.
Let me preface this article by saying I am a Republican. I was a little more staunch before the Bush administration, but I’m a republican just the same.
Lately the gap between the rich and poor (with a big chunk of the middle class quickly becoming poorer) is getting larger due to government policies. I remember back when Ross Perot was running for president (don’t laugh). He said it really didn’t matter to him what his taxes were. He would adapt and do well regardless. The middle class at this point doesn’t have the options that the wealthy do so they sink further and faster and can’t ride out the storm. Taken to an extreme, we could have riots and rampant crime that will affect everyone.
I think a progressive tax system is a very small price to pay for living in a stable democracy. If we increase the class divide much more, we’ll be living behind iron gates with armed guards. I don’t want this. I’d rather pay more in taxes and have my gardener (if I were lucky enough to have one) be able to have a decent life without fear of survival.
Now I’m not a socialist nor a bleeding heart liberal but the fact is we all live in the same world. Life is much better when everyone feels safe, even if they’re at the low end of the income scale. The top 10% isn’t suffering at the moment and won’t even if taxes are raised. Fair is in the eye of the beholder.
The real issue is the size of government and where they spend the tax revenue. If they increase taxes too much, the wealthy will flee. If they tax regressively, the masses will suffer. They need to let capitalism do its work and stay out of the banking system. They need to take special interest money out of the equation. They need to spend less and do what government does best, use their power to make sure that the capitalist system is consistent and relatively fair. Since the government is incurring massive debt and since the middle class shoulders the bulk of that burden, we in effect have a very regressive state of affairs coming on us. In the depression, those who had money and avoided the crash lived very quietly and avoided drawing attention to their wealth for fear they would be targeted as the cause of everyone else’s misery.. Do you want this kind of life?
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Post CommentBozak
On March 3, 2009 at 12:57 am
It sounds like you believe that “spread the wealth” would work well.
It won’t. Name a country where it works.
1. If the government take money from the rich and gives to the poor what is the motivation for the poor to work hard, go back to school, take chances, etc. Why would the rich want to stay here in America?
2. If the rich don’t mind paying higher taxes, why don’t all the rich liberals/democrats pay more than they owe and stop using the legal deductions. Or in the example of the democrats that Obama is picking for his cabinet, just pay the taxes they owe.
3. Life will never be fair. I wanted to be the starting center for the Lakers, being a foot too short, due to no fault of my own ended that dream. The gap between the rich and poor is growing because of technology. In the old days, many more people were hired to do jobs now being done by automation. Although life isn’t fair, life is what you make of it. In the “old days,” it was assumed that people would work hard to learn new skills. There were no government programs to help blacksmiths/horse-shoers when cars started their domination.
4. If you really wanted to fix things from a tax position, let’s have a flat 10% tax on income. For one thing, everyone will feel the pinch of higher taxes, forcing politicians to do a better job spending tax dollars. How much money is being wasted at the hands of politicians that can get away with waste and fraud. In the private sector, if a good or service isn’t up to par their customers will spend their money elsewhere. With the government, all they have to do is raise taxes even if the service is so sub-par no one would use it if they had a choice… like public education.
5. The people that complain about things here should do a little traveling around the world. See what having no chance really means. Ask immigrants about why they come to this country, why they risk their lives to come to this country. What is it immigrants see about this country that some citizens don’t see. Opportunity.
garion
On March 6, 2009 at 12:57 am
Thanks for commenting. I really like your #4. I think a flat tax would be wonderful. And I really believe that Congress has been so irresponsible that it exhausts me to even think about it. In a way I hope things get much worse before they get better. That’s the only way that real change will ever come and congress will again be representative of the people
The rich are rich because they add value. And any tax is a disincentive (if that’s even a word) to produce. So if we tax the Hank Reardens of the world then of course it will make them do less. Although they pay the majority of the taxes they pay less on a percentage basis.
Remember Warren Buffet advocating for high capital gain taxes? He said his secretary pays a higher percentage than he does. And he doesn’t tax plan at all. An increase in the super rich won’t stop the Bill Gates of the world from making the next Microsoft. And if the working class shoulders a heavier tax burden what incentive do they have to keep working?