What is fair anyhow…
Did you ever notice how often the word “fair” is used? Particularly in the economic sense? Like there is fair taxation, fair housing, fair income, fair rental, fair deal, etc.
Many times, however, the word fair is used – mostly by liberals – in a negative declarative statement as in “That’s not fair!” And they say it a lot because, in the liberal mind, anytime anyone anywhere gets more than what they – the liberal – envisions as correct, is simply “not fair”.
Nowhere is this mindset more evident than in taxation rates and, in particular, income tax rates. A frequently heard refrain is that the “rich must be made to pay their fair share” of taxes.
This statement is made in complete defiance – and total ignorance – of the fact that the “rich” pay considerably more taxes than do those less well off.
For instance, as an example, according to the Wall Street Journal, taxpayers with income over $100,000 a year earn 60 percent of the nation’s income and pay 95.2 percent of the income taxes in the United States. That seems hardly fair… looks like they are getting the shaft…
Moreover, at the other end of the scale, taxpayers making less than $50,000 a year represent about half of the country, earn 16.4 percent of the nation’s income, but have a negative share of income taxes because they receive more back then they pay out. That’s not fair either… looks like they are getting a free ride.
Just remember this when the next time our beloved Governor Inslee – and his free-spending democrat cohorts – propose a state income tax.
And you can bet that it will be a graduated tax that increases with your income. Because it is “fair” that those with greater incomes pay more taxes. It helps to make things equal and they prefer that everyone should be equal.
Even if that means that they are “equally miserable”.
Until next time…
Dick Pilling, Chair
