Tax codes - paying for government or a Big Stick?
This Administration is using the tax code far beyond any other one that I can remember. Which brings up one of the biggest questions and differences between Conservatives and Liberals:
As an incidental item, it spotlights just how foolish and unfair social engineering by tax policy always is. For everything somebody judges “good” and encourages with tax code manipulation, there is behavior judged “bad” (success and “too much” wealth) to be punished, and havoc ensues.
What is the purpose of taxation? Is it to finance necessary government services, or to empower certain individuals-on-high to reward or punish us according to their moral and philosophical views? This question should have been asked, publicly debated and settled quite some time ago. But it seems critical to ask it now that the new president has proclaimed the tax code (and the federal budget) as his weapon with which to smite sinners.
Conservatives believe that the purpose of tax codes should only be to fund government. It should be equally shared since everyone benefits from the order maintained by government (as well as other services). Liberals, on the other hand, seem to be wildly enamoured with the idea of raising MORE money so as to spend more AND to make it economically unviable to go against what they believe to be "good" behavior and severely punish what they believe to be bad.
In other words, Conservatives want people to pay; Liberals want others to pay AND pay (cash and a club). Conservatives (notice that I am not saying Republicans) also pay a lot of attention to the spending side of the equation - Liberals just seem to ignore it other than to say "More, please".
My question is why do Liberal ALWAYS want to control as much as peoples' lives as they do? They accuse Conservatives of the same - but go ahead start counting up the ways that THIS Administration wants to change ALL of our behavior.
Here in NH, we can keep a fairly good grip on spending at the Town level because of Town Meetings / SB2 ballot voting; local people determining their level of spending on what they believe to be important - and no more. Town after town shut down extra spending on most "extra" items deeming them to be "wants" and not needs.
The problem comes when people become more removed from that spending decision making - as seen when NH swung Democrat and spending at the State level ballooned. Now, they are looking to implement a broad based tax now to rescue their butts from the overspending.
Fat lot of good that will do - all one has to do is look at NJ and how badly they have fared by raising tax after tax after tax. They even DID what some here in NH want to do - implement an income tax so as to lower property taxes (yeah, that worked out real well, right?).
Want further example? Look at Doug's post here. Blue Hampshire's newest "front pager" (Jennifer Daler) put up a post that quotes from an article from Govern magazine:
In a revealing analysis of the California budget crisis, the San Jose Mercury News noted recently that if the state, which is facing a combined two-year deficit of $42 billion, were to lay off every one of its 230,000 employees, it wouldn't solve even half the problem. So it's hard to see how the state can cut its way out of this mess. But since a two-thirds vote of the legislature is required to pass a tax increase in California, it's easy for the anti-taxers to block a solution that includes realistic revenue reform.
No kidding it wouldn't solve the problem! The problem is not on the revenue side of the ledger; rather, CA has failed to constrain the expenditure side of the ledger. It seems that even with the enormous Santa Claus grab bag stuffed with taxes of all types and sizes, it seems impossible for these folks to manage the outflow. With respect to the above snippet - notice that entitlements are not mentioned! And speaking truth to power about the overpaid unions (that can determine election, re-election, or not). Spending cuts seem to be such a foreign idea....
States could learn a lot from NH towns. Sadly, so could the State of NH.
Low taxes are a result of low spending....learn it, live it, love it.
Why do Liberals hate that phrase? It blows their gaskets Conservatives believe that people can and should be responsible for themselves instead of being chained to government.
Fair Tax? You betchum - government spending is taken care of - gets government out of the economic behavior business.
