By Porter Stansberry in the S&A Digest:
According to the federales themselves, the top 1% of wage earners in the United States earned more than $388,806 in 2006.
There were 1.65 million citizens in this category. As a group, they paid $488 billion in income taxes. That was 40% of all income taxes. But they only earned 22% of all wages. In short, the marginal tax rates on America's top earners were almost 100% more than average. OBAMA! will increase the top rate these people pay - because paying 100% more than average just isn't quite "fair" enough.
We might argue about whether or not we ought to charge some citizens different rates of income tax. But if you'll take the time to read the U.S. Constitution, it's clear that progressive taxation is unconstitutional. Just read the 14th Amendment. It says the government "may not deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." That means the law can't treat one citizen differently from another - white or black, rich or poor.
If our Constitution weren't merely a dead letter, the equal protection clause - which was designed to prevent black people from being discriminated against by southern states following the Civil War - would now effectively prevent a black president from "spreading the wealth around" as much as he sees fit. History is nothing if not ironic.
Even if you think progressive taxation is a good idea and redistributing income ought to be the government's prerogative, I can tell you judging from history and the recent experiences of several different countries, when society expects 40% of the tax burden to be carried by only 1% of the population, bad things happen. The masses always demand too many services from the government - because they're not paying for them. And, eventually, the 1% that's paying leaves, quits working, or hides their income.
The result is always catastrophic, not only for the state but for the culture. Once people get used to living off the bounty of their neighbors, they're reluctant to go back to work. And they're angry about it. There's not much more dangerous to society than lots of poor, angry, and desperate people who have become addicted to entitlements. Think unionized employees at Chrysler and GM. Welcome to Amerika.
At the present time, America's income taxes are the most progressive of any major industrialized nation. That's not a contest we should seek to win.
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More excellent libertarian rants:
Why the government screws up everything it touches
Why "cap and trade" will be an unmitigated disaster
Why free money is destroying America
