It certainly has worked for politicians! They've been using it for a long time... in 1913 it sure worked to get the 16th Amendment passed. It worked in the 30's, the 40's and the 50's... and here we are again... only lets take a little closer look at what actually happen.
Poll: Tax the Rich! 61% say tax the rich to balance the budget.
In 1913, there was no income taxes. People were told they would tax only the richest 1% income. That one didn't turn out so well. Somehow the rich survived... yet today we all are subordinate to the IRS.
During the 30s, 40's, 50's and 60's the "rich" were taxed up to 90%. They somehow survived that too. In fact the gap between rich and poor has only continued to widen. How could it be possible the rich actually got richer? The short story is... they understand how to play the game.
The fact of the matter is... this is just a smoke screen. And the people that proclaim it are either ignorant or deceptive. The rich understand how the system works... they really pay little to no taxes. The taxes they do pay are passed through into the cost of goods and services. With corporations, trusts, and off shore accounts they can shuffle money around to make it look like the government owes them money. General Electric, for example, made $10 billion worldwide in 2009, but when they filed their IRS form, it showed up as a $600 million loss... and they didn't pay any taxes at all! Not to mention all the government contracts they profited from... most of that $10 billion probably came right from the US government. How ironic aye...
This is certainly political theater at it's finest. And the people who actually believe it should be ashamed at being so stupid. Falling for this is like being burnt at three-card monte every day of the week... and yet, showing up on Saturday morning with one's paycheck in hand ready to try one more time!
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" was something Martin Luther King Jr. famously said... he was right and it's time people stop trying to stick it to somebody else and realize... when they do, their only really sticking it to themselves. The income tax is a failure. It was never what they promised and it never will be. For the average folks it's just slavery by another name and needs to be abolished.
Update: A recent article from the Wall Street Journal on the perils of taxing the rich. It's been the downfall of many of the most "progressive" states.
The Price of Taxing the Rich
Dumbest article ever. SO many factual errors.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest one is found in 3rd paragraph. The wealth gap did not widen when we had a 90% tax rate, it was until we got rid of that tax rate did the wealth gap widen. That fact alone destroys your entire premise