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November 12, 2005
First We Kill all the Wealthy
Dale wrote, "“First, kill all the wealthy.�
Perhaps this famous Shakespeare quotation would have read something like that, had he been a modern-day liberal. Every time I hear a politician talk about having the rich pay their fair share I start to fume. I was recently involved in a discussion with a well meaning liberal acquaintance on the topic of taxation. The subject of the flat tax came up, and I astonished him by revealing that such a tax, while preferable to our current system, is still unfair to the rich. That’s right, the rich. It is a simple question of logic. If we are afforded the same opportunity by our government, than why is it that one individual must pay more than another?
My friend, who by the way, makes a fair bit more than myself, went on to argue that the wealthy have an obligation to pay more because they can. I was delighted by this argument, and suggested that he pay for a portion of my lunch since he was more able than I.
I asked him why he thought he owed the government more than me. We were both afforded opportunities to succeed; we both wore the uniform of our nation, and were thus both serving our country, so why is it that he felt he needed to pay more? He kept going back to this concept that because he could, he therefore should. This is a completely foreign, and I might add condescending position to someone like myself.
As a conservative I generally assume that if someone is wealthy, the have done something to earn it. Even if they haven’t, as is the case with inheritance, as long as they have not done anything illegal to gain it, I do not believe it is within my rights to take it from them. But like I said, I am a conservative. I believe that the only thing separating me from wealth is time. As Ronald Reagan once said (paraphrasing) “we live in a time when we cannot see a fat man standing next to a skinny one on the corner without thinking that the fat one got that way by taking advantage of the skinny one.�
Let’s face it; the wealthy generally do more for the country, just by the virtue of what you have to do to generate wealth in a capitalist society. Adam Smith (An 18th century economist for you sociology majors at Chico state) referred to such phenomena as the “invisible hand�. Simply put if you own a business, and are employing people, you are already doing more for the country than someone who isn’t. So, say we all paid the same amount in taxes. One tax at the end of the year, we’ll say $2,000 each, that small business owner or oil conglomerate would still be contributing more than the average tax payer. Libs cannot understand this concept.
They are living in a pre-capitalist world where there is only so much wealth to be had. And if one person is wealthy, that’s less wealth for the rest of us. This is the fundamental misnomer that drives liberal economic thinking. The concept that wealth is unlimited, and that there is always room for growth in a capitalist system, baffles them. That is why my acquaintance who makes more than I do is content with paying more than me, and demands that those who make more then him pay even more. I on the other hand think more of my economic capabilities. And therefore do not want to be put upon by those that think I owe them something.
Let me leave you with one last thought. If your child informed you that there was a test to be taken on a Friday. And all through the week you watched your child study, only to see them come home on Friday with a C grade. Not because that is what he or she scored. But because the teacher thought it was unfair for one student to score so high while others scored lower. So instead of merit based testing, they just added up the class average and gave that score to everyone. How quick would one of your self-righteous liberal friends be on the phone with a principal?
Jack's reply: Well said, and by the way happy belated Veteran's Day.
Posted by Post Scripts at November 12, 2005 01:22 PM
Comments
Well said bro.Frietas
Posted by: Jordan Frazer at November 13, 2005 12:37 AM
Tax the rich. Make them pay. When Hillary comes, we'll have our day.
Posted by: Hurricane Hillary at November 13, 2005 11:37 AM