re: #358 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Republicans for Tax Hikes

When we’re talking about token federal income tax, we’re talking symbolism. The Republican point isn’t to stick it to the folks at the 40th percentile and try to rake the bucks in from them. It’s to educate them to the reality of what life is like a bit higher on the government’s food chain. That reality is that, to be able to spend and deliver benefits, the government must collect from its citizenry. That the benefits aren’t “free”.

If government benefits came from heaven, like sunlight, gentle rain, and moonbeams, we wouldn’t worry about government spending. More would be better. Why be chintzy?

It would strengthen the Republican hand in elections if Joe Public had to pay federal income tax and fork over at least a little something.

Unfortunately, the way the distribution of earnings power has shaped up over the last few decades, that’s not going to happen. In music, for instance, the technology that allows for high fidelity recording and distribution of songs means that a relatively few, amazingly good musicians can perform for billions.

It’s sort of that way in many other industries. The Gini index goes up, and the fraction of people who make enough to be relevant to the enormous government appetite for money falls.

The government is powerless to redistribute earnings power. It can redistribute the fruits. It does. It should, to a point. It can futz with the rules and create the appearance of earnings power by creating make work jobs. It does that too, to some extent. If the make work jobs produce something, anything, of even a little value to society, maybe that’s for the best. But earnings power hasn’t really been redistributed.