April 16, 2010
According to the left, the way to reduce our massive deficit is to impose higher taxes on the rich.
Nonpartisan groups like the Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center say raising taxes on those earning more than $200,000 annually would mean tax rates must soar to between 77 percent and 91 percent just to bring yearly budget deficits down to manageable levels of around two to three percent of economic output. This assumes Congress won't spend the extra money. That is like assuming a drunk won't take a drink if you put a bottle of whiskey in front of him.
And yet taxes are going up to pay for President Obama's radical agenda. Not only income taxes are going up, but payroll taxes on Medicare will double for the top wage earners, as will capital gains taxes. This is the surest way to slow or shut-off an economic recovery.
There are now almost as many Americans not paying taxes as paying them. The left wants to create a dependency culture that will give them votes for decades to come.
This is not the America I know. What about you?
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
