Spread the Wealth

October 18, 2008

Spread the Wealth

Paying higher taxes is patriotic!

Revolution

Joe the Plumber made the last national Presidential debate. His son was really digging it. (Plumber talk!)

As the story goes, Joe is a plumber who wants to buy a plumbing business with net revenues of $250,000. He wants to know why he would be penalized with a higher tax rate for being successful at his "pursuit of happiness". Joe felt it seemed unconstitutional to discriminate against someone solely because he wants "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

Robin Hood politicians "steal from the rich, to give to the poor", as a winning strategy to get elected and re-elected. But, I would say to him:

Of course, the ordinary plumbers and plumbing customers who got the tax break, after Joe the Plumber BOSS readjusted everything, do not feel any better off than before they got their tax break from Mr. Politician who got their vote. And they are right. Their wages stagnated as prices rose. But their taxes were less. Other than Mr. Politician, no one is worst off and no one is better off.

Which is great for Mr. Politician, because he can now promise another round of "Steal from the Rich to Give to the Poor".

Starting the cycle all over again.

Again, the owner of the company pays his people less and charges his customers more to make up the added taxes he has to pay.

The workers never get pay raises, making them mad at their boss.

The people needing plumbing get bigger and bigger plumbing bills, making them mad at their plumbers.

And everyone is asking Mr. Politicians for more "help" to save them once again from the "greedy" owners.

The cycle is repeated over and over, as no one is wiser to Mr. Politician.

Only, there are physical boundaries. What happens when you reduce taxes so much that citizens do not even pay taxes anymore? Mr. Politician has a problem. He cannot reduce taxes anymore.

Or can he?

We all learned about negative numbers in grade school. Mr. Politician has a plan. To keep the votes coming his way, he will reduce most people's taxes into a negative tax. With this plan, the government will now take a negative tax (Earned income or tax rebate) from citizens, instead of taking a positive tax (a real tax).

Sounds silly. Taxes are to fund the operations of the government. How is the government going to function if it has negative revenues coming in? --Business taxes make up the difference.

Same goes for health care. Each time the boss has government taking more from him, he reduces the salaries of his employees to make up the difference. Eventually, the employees will be unable to afford health care for their family. But just like "earned income", the government is there with the bosses money to give his employees' the government health care he used to provide.

Taken to the extreme, as it is intended to go, government will provide all services to all citizens, including the services of Joe the Plumber. (The political cartoon at the top is not so funny anymore is it?)

Joe the Plumber talking to Obama

I used to talk about this with the operators at my job.

They had been told by politicians forever long that my taxes were not high enough for my high pay level and their taxes were way too high for their low pay. They actually believed that I was making too much and they were making too little. In their eyes, taxes would be the equalizer.

I tried to tell them that my higher pay was a premium for the six extra years of school I went to compared to them. Six years where I was not earning money, but spending money. It was an early risk I made in my education, for a greater reward in my career.

That argument went nowhere!

Doctors have it even worst! They go to school half their adult life, are burned out from it all, and have tremendous student loans to pay back. The only thing that can possibly keep them going is the knowledge that their doctor's wages will be enough to pay off the student loans and catch up with the enormous opportunity costs they missed while in school and not working.

The operators never understood this, but I told them that if a politician raised my taxes and lowered their taxes enough to where we were making the exact same take-home pay (communism), then someone like me (or a doctor) would have no incentive to go to college.

The owners would still need people to attend college in order to obtain the necessary skills their company required. Hence, the owners of the company would be forced to give people in my situation a hefty pay raise. To make up the difference, the company would be forced to stop giving the operators a cost-of-living pay raise until everything was brought back into balance. The net overall effect would be the same. Except, that the pre-tax difference in pay levels was now bigger than before, and the pay jealously was also bigger than before. This perceived but false injustice is what pushes even more political action.

Not to belabor the point, but the "Spread the Wealth" schemes are doomed to failure, for it is the after-tax take home pay that should be compared, never pre-tax pay; because those are the wages that are set and never changes much due to the laws of supply and demand.

The Christian Solution

Giving representation to people to spend taxes, who do not pay any taxes, is both slavery and tyranny!

Paying your own taxes for Constitutional services rendered is patriotic. Paying the taxes of others is both slavery and tyranny!

Here is what we must do:

uniform

equal

Article located at:
http://thechristiansolution.com/doc/20081018_61_GovtheAnswer.html

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October 18, 2008 Spread the Wealth Paying higher taxes is patriotic! -- Barack Obama, 2008 Paying higher taxes to give welfare to non-taxpayers is grounds for Revolution Joe the Plumber made the last national Presidential debate. His son was really digging it. (Plumber talk!) As the story goes, Joe is a plumber who wants to buy a plumbing business with net revenues of $250,000. He wants to know why he would be penalized with a higher tax rate for being successful at his "pursuit of happiness". Joe felt it seemed unconstitutional to discriminate against someone solely because he wants "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Robin Hood politicians "steal from the rich, to give to the poor", as a winning strategy to get elected and re-elected. But, I would say to him: Joe, Get with the program, man! Here is how it works in real life. Let the Obama communists implement their "share the wealth" plans. No harm done! Follow me here... When you get that higher tax rate, you simply fix the problem. First off, you know that the plumbers working for you are now getting a tax break at your expense. You're the boss who decides everyone's salary, right? So you just pay them less to make up the difference. And as for your customers? They are also getting a tax break at your expense, so simply raise the price of the plumbing jobs you quote to make up the difference. Now, you are right back where you started. Problem solved. Your friend at, The Christian Solution Of course, the ordinary plumbers and plumbing customers who got the tax break, after Joe the Plumber BOSS readjusted everything, do not feel any better off than before they got their tax break from Mr. Politician who got their vote. And they are right. Their wages stagnated as prices rose. But their taxes were less. Other than Mr. Politician, no one is worst off and no one is better off. Which is great for Mr. Politician, because he can now promise another round of "Steal from the Rich to Give to the Poor". Starting the cycle all over again. Again, the owner of the company pays his people less and charges his customers more to make up the added taxes he has to pay. The workers never get pay raises, making them mad at their boss. The people needing plumbing get bigger and bigger plumbing bills, making them mad at their plumbers. And everyone is asking Mr. Politicians for more "help" to save them once again from the "greedy" owners. The cycle is repeated over and over, as no one is wiser to Mr. Politician. Only, there are physical boundaries. What happens when you reduce taxes so much that citizens do not even pay taxes anymore? Mr. Politician has a problem. He cannot reduce taxes anymore. Or can he? We all learned about negative numbers in grade school. Mr. Politician has a plan. To keep the votes coming his way, he will reduce most people's taxes into a negative tax. With this plan, the government will now take a negative tax (Earned income or tax rebate) from citizens, instead of taking a positive tax (a real tax). Sounds silly. Taxes are to fund the operations of the government. How is the government going to function if it has negative revenues coming in? --Business taxes make up the difference. Same goes for health care. Each time the boss has government taking more from him, he reduces the salaries of his employees to make up the difference. Eventually, the employees will be unable to afford health care for their family. But just like "earned income", the government is there with the bosses money to give his employees' the government health care he used to provide. Taken to the extreme, as it is intended to go, government will provide all services to all citizens, including the services of Joe the Plumber. (The political cartoon at the top is not so funny anymore is it?) Joe the Plumber talking to Obama I used to talk about this with the operators at my job. They had been told by politicians forever long that my taxes were not high enough for my high pay level and their taxes were way too high for their low pay. They actually believed that I was making too much and they were making too little. In their eyes, taxes would be the equalizer. I tried to tell them that my higher pay was a premium for the six extra years of school I went to compared to them. Six years where I was not earning money, but spending money. It was an early risk I made in my education, for a greater reward in my career. That argument went nowhere! Doctors have it even worst! They go to school half their adult life, are burned out from it all, and have tremendous student loans to pay back. The only thing that can possibly keep them going is the knowledge that their doctor's wages will be enough to pay off the student loans and catch up with the enormous opportunity costs they missed while in school and not working. The operators never understood this, but I told them that if a politician raised my taxes and lowered their taxes enough to where we were making the exact same take-home pay (communism), then someone like me (or a doctor) would have no incentive to go to college. The owners would still need people to attend college in order to obtain the necessary skills their company required. Hence, the owners of the company would be forced to give people in my situation a hefty pay raise. To make up the difference, the company would be forced to stop giving the operators a cost-of-living pay raise until everything was brought back into balance. The net overall effect would be the same. Except, that the pre-tax difference in pay levels was now bigger than before, and the pay jealously was also bigger than before. This perceived but false injustice is what pushes even more political action. Not to belabor the point, but the "Spread the Wealth" schemes are doomed to failure, for it is the after-tax take home pay that should be compared, never pre-tax pay; because those are the wages that are set and never changes much due to the laws of supply and demand. The Christian Solution Giving representation to people to spend taxes, who do not pay any taxes, is both slavery and tyranny! Paying your own taxes for Constitutional services rendered is patriotic. Paying the taxes of others is both slavery and tyranny! Here is what we must do: Tax only for Constitutionally delegated responsibilities and follow the Constitution's requirement that taxes be "uniform throughout the United States", "nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". Article located at: http://thechristiansolution.com/doc/20081018_61_GovtheAnswer.html	Last Hope for America Christian Libertarian: Harmonious Union of Church and State Recent News The Christian Solution ^©was released March 15, 2008
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