Jonah Goldberg writes a fantastic column:
Conversely, this is why their is somewhat surprisingly tepid support among voters for tax cuts. So many people don't pay taxes in the first place that it isn't a compelling issue. As long as the other guy is footing the bill, who cares?
I have to credit the Democrats will some brilliant political strategery here. As long as the burden of government is equally shared it will enjoy only limited support. If you can shift the burden, however, to a small minority of taxpayers and give the others what is essentially a free lunch then the sky is the limit. Furthermore, once this shift is accomplished it is incredibly difficult to reverse as any tax cuts will by, by definition, be biased towards the rich because they will be the only ones who pay anything in the first place (we have already moved a long way in this direction).
This is yet another reason why we need to move to a flat tax, to ensure that we all pay the same percentage of income in taxation (the very definition of fair -- although some would argue that fair would be everyone paying the same amount in tax regardless of income).
The other key reform should be the end of automatic paycheck deductions. Rather, just like the self-employed, everyone should have to mail a check to the Treasury Department once per quarter so that they can see how much of their income is confiscated to fund the government. As it is now people don't notice the cost of government as much since they never have the money to begin with and it's difficult to miss something you never had. Not only that but you frequently receive a refund check once per year -- making Uncle Sam more akin to Santa Claus than the tax collector.
What does it do to a democracy when people see government as something only other people should pay for?Read the whole thing. This is exactly right. While I don't like paying income tax, I think it is something that everyone with an income should have to do. Everyone should have to contribute something to the federal coffers for the reasons stated above. This, I believe, is one reason that so many people don't have a problem with big government -- they collect the largess while paying nothing in return. It's a great deal.
Let's take seriously for a moment the notion that rich people are an inexhaustible army of Energizer bunnies that just keep going and going, no matter what taxes you throw in their path. You can see where Democrats get this idea, after all. The top 1% of wage earners already provide nearly 40% of federal income tax revenues. And the bottom half of taxpayers contribute only about 3%.
Taxes are a necessary evil. But their silver lining is that they foster a sense of accountability and reciprocity between the taxpayer and the tax collector. Indeed, democracy is usually born from this relationship. Widening prosperity brings a rising middle class, which in turn demands the rule of law, incorrupt bureaucracies and political representation in exchange for its hard-earned money. You might recall the phrase "no taxation without representation."
...Of course, typical wage earners pay plenty of taxes, but not in ways that foster a sense of reciprocity with the government in Washington. Their biggest federal payment is the regressive payroll tax intended to fund Social Security and Medicare. And even though as a matter of accounting these payments are no different from any other taxes, they're sold simply as retirement and health insurance programs.
Meanwhile, Democrats keep telling the bottom 95% of taxpayers that all of America's problems will be solved if only the rich people would pay "their fair share" of income taxes. Not only is this patently untrue and a siren song toward a welfare state, it amounts to covetousness as fiscal policy.
I don't know what the best tax rates are, for rich or poor.
But I'm pretty sure that it's unhealthy for a democracy when the majority of citizens don't see government as a service they're reluctantly paying for but as an extortionist that cuts them in for a share of the loot.
Conversely, this is why their is somewhat surprisingly tepid support among voters for tax cuts. So many people don't pay taxes in the first place that it isn't a compelling issue. As long as the other guy is footing the bill, who cares?
I have to credit the Democrats will some brilliant political strategery here. As long as the burden of government is equally shared it will enjoy only limited support. If you can shift the burden, however, to a small minority of taxpayers and give the others what is essentially a free lunch then the sky is the limit. Furthermore, once this shift is accomplished it is incredibly difficult to reverse as any tax cuts will by, by definition, be biased towards the rich because they will be the only ones who pay anything in the first place (we have already moved a long way in this direction).
This is yet another reason why we need to move to a flat tax, to ensure that we all pay the same percentage of income in taxation (the very definition of fair -- although some would argue that fair would be everyone paying the same amount in tax regardless of income).
The other key reform should be the end of automatic paycheck deductions. Rather, just like the self-employed, everyone should have to mail a check to the Treasury Department once per quarter so that they can see how much of their income is confiscated to fund the government. As it is now people don't notice the cost of government as much since they never have the money to begin with and it's difficult to miss something you never had. Not only that but you frequently receive a refund check once per year -- making Uncle Sam more akin to Santa Claus than the tax collector.
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