Well, the donkeys have found a slogan that resonates with middle America: Tax the Rich!
Even seemingly reasonable people don't have a problem with this. I do. And I'm certainly not rich, so not being self-serving here. Anyway, here's three big "challenges" connected to taxing the rich.
1.) Listening to a right-wing radio show the other night and some jerk called in and ranted about Tax the Rich! The host very politely asked the caller, "What do you think the rich do with their money?" The caller responded, "I don't know. Take it to Europe."
Well, that was funny.
Anyway, the host pointed out that if you have $100 million or so in your savings account, you probably don't keep it in your savings account. Maybe you could blow a million a year or so -- and unless your personal fortune is also your company's ledger sheet, blowing a million dollars in a year would keep you pretty busy partying, yachting, taking grammar school classes to DisneyWorld, etc. etc.
Actually, what the rich do is they hire accountants and financial managers. The accountants keep the financial managers honest. The financial managers search relentlessly for promising investments.
Yeah. The excess that the rich don't spend on yachts and diamonds generally is re-invested in the economy somewhere. They buy stocks and bonds, maybe they volunteer "venture capital" for kinda-risky start-ups. (Virtually every single business in the Silicon Valley was a kinda-risky start-up 10 or 15 years ago.)
The point is, the rich don't stuff their mattresses with money or keep it in shoe boxes in their closets. They put it to work. It funds economic growth.This translates into jobs and income and future prospects for growth and development for other non-rich people.
But hell, according to the Comrade and ace economist Paul Krugman, we don't need no steenking economic growth. Like, are we really doing just fine as it is right now, blockheads?
2.) Very simple: Why would you work hard enough to earn more than $250,000.00 in a year if you know the feds are going to take it?
No. You aren't going to hire that extra salesman, make a bid for that really big new account, buy that new manufacturing capacity. No. Because anything you might make over $250,000.00 will bring lower and lower returns -- and you might actually end up in debt on that expansion, rather than increasing your profits.
After all, expansion is always risky. Maybe you buy a $2 million new piece of equipment, and that big new customer dies and his heirs shut down his company, or keep the whole thing in an escrow limbo while they fight over who gets to run it. Things like this happen all the time. And meanwhile, you're stuck with this huge new and expensive capacity.
I mean, really, why work so hard and worry so much and go out on a limb if you don't get to keep the fruits of your labor? We all have a lot more fun things to do in our spare time than figure out how to get a foot in the door in new markets, or develop some new kind of product -- and then figure out how to sell it to people who've never of it.
So, screw it, you know? Start taking Fridays off.
I should add, this is where much of our economy is right now, just because no one really knows what's going to happen next, what catastrophic new policy the merry marxists are going to unveil. It's almost a knee-jerk reaction -- you get knots in your stomach, too many variables.... no, I'll just keep it in the bank.
3.) This is the real MORAL reason for not taking the rich. IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY!
IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY! IT BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE WHO EARNED IT! IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY! IT BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE WHO EARNED IT!
Got that?
Additionally, the whole concept of "Tax the Rich" comes with a thorny problem regarding definitions. Like, who are "the rich?" What constitutes "rich."
When I think of the rich, I tend to think about Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, pro football players and movie stars. I mean, people who rake in not $250,000.00 per annum, but those who take in millions over and above what they need to live.
But apparently not enough of those "rich" have enough money, even when collected and dumped into one big pool, to make a dent in the national debt, so the bar is lowered for what constitutes "rich." Now it's $250,000.00. When those people are taxed into poverty, the feds will lower the bar again. In a couple of years, the "rich" will be anyone who makes more than $150,000.00 -- or actually more. See, the number has to be higher than congressional salaries because congress sure as shit ain't going to tax themselves more heavily unless they also build in plenty of loopholes.
Pretty soon, it'll be if you make than 25 cents, you're "rich" -- I mean, after all, compared to Somalians, you're rolling in it! So you make your 25 cents, and the greedy and insatiable feds will want a dime.
Think I'm exaggerating? Look at history.
Save the Republic.
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