DawnODay
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2015
- Posts
- 3,120
Tax the rich, feed the poor
Till there are no rich no more?
- Alvin Lee, I'd Love to Change the World, (1971).
In other words:
“The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
I had a recent PM exchange here that I thought apropos to share in light of the current D.C. debate on tax reform. Because I have not consulted with my correspondent before sharing, I have redacted his name.
DawnODay said:XXXXXXXX said:DawnODay said:XXXXXXXX said:But as a "leftist," your posts are making me want to hatefuck the conservativism out of you.
I understand.
Such violent instincts are typical of the Left these days.
If you really are sorry, you might want to consider the fact-based reasoning of Conservatism to the pipe-dream emotions of Socialism.
First of all, fuck socialism. I'm a strong proponent of capitalism. But more importantly, "fact-based reasoning" leads almost exclusively to liberal conclusions. Systemic racism exists. Taxes on the wealthy should be higher. Investing in education can actually save money overall by reducing the costs associated with social services and the criminal justice system. This shit isn't difficult. It's not about emotions beyond the extent to which it requires you to give the slightest of fucks about other people.
Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX,
Thank you for your reply. Now we have some substance to discuss. I respect your opinions, except history shows you are simply mistaken that "'fact-based reasoning' leads almost exclusively to liberal conclusions."
Take, for instance, your belief that "[t]axes on the wealthy should be higher." There are two basic arguments against this. I'll start with the weaker of the two, which is fairness.
In 2014, the most recent year for which there is full data:
The top 1 percent [of taxpayers] paid a greater share of individual income taxes (39.5 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.1 percent).
The share of income earned by the top 1 percent of taxpayers rose to 20.6 percent in 2014. Their share of federal individual income taxes also rose, to 39.5 percent.
[T]he top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97.3 percent of all individual income taxes while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 2.7 percent.
S. Greenberg, Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2016 Update, Tax Foundation (Feb. 1, 2017). These numbers are confirmed by CNBC, which I'm sure you admit has no right-wing bias. With the "one-percenters" paying 40% of all income taxes, and the top 50% paying almost all of income taxes, I assume you are not arguing "fairness" as a basis for why the "rich" should pay more.
Perhaps, instead, you think it is good economic policy. After all, we have a the huge national debt (nearly doubled in just the 8 years of the Obama Presidency). If the rich paid more, would that not help that?
Maybe, but given the size of the debt, any amount you could tax them would be a mere drop in the bucket. Rather, history shows the best way to fight deficits and reduce debt is to lower taxes on the very wealthy and let them invest that capital back into economic development. You should understand this. You're a "strong proponent of capitalism," after all.
Only twice since the inception of income tax in the USA have we had tax reform involving across the board tax reductions, including for the wealthy. One was under Kennedy; the other under Reagan. In each case, the resulting economic boom resulted in significant deficit reduction and, in the latter case, budget surpluses. The Kennedy tax cuts would have also led to surpluses if not for the cost of the Vietnam War (a war started by Democrats and ended by a Republican), and LBJ's failed "War on Poverty."
Thus, if your reason for wanting to increase taxes on the wealthy is economic policy, then history suggests that the better policy for the whole economy, which is what is necessary to help the poor and middle class, is to include them in a reversion to the sort of tax rates we had at the end of the Kennedy and Reagan administrations. See, generally, B. Domitrovic & L. Kudlow, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan Proved Tax Cuts Work, Time (Sep. 29, 2016); M. Geewax, JFK's Lasting Economic Legacy: Lower Tax Rates, NPR (Nov. 14, 2013); D. Mitchell, The Historical Lessons of Lower Tax Rates, (Aug. 13, 2003).
As you can see, I am not some knee-jerk reactionary. I have facts and sound and rational reasoning behind my Conservative opinions. Do you still want "to hatefuck the conservativism [sic] out of" me?
Yours from the right,
Dawn
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