We have to dispel this notion that the role of government is to figure out how to ‘maximize tax receipts’.
The Laffer Curve states that if you tax somebody at 100%, you’ll end up with nothing, as there’s no incentive to make money. If you tax somebody at 0%, you’ll end up with nothing, as there’s no tax. SO - there’s some midpoint that maximizes taxes and just ‘raising the tax rate’ doesn’t necessarily translate into more tax revenue.
While I agree with this, it still rests on the premise that maximizing tax revenue is, and should be, the goal. It shouldn’t be. Clearly our government can’t control its spending. It’ll never be enough. The only answer is for government to be able to survive on a minimal income, giving us OUR money back, as MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
The ‘we the people’ being able to keep as much as possible should be the goal. We know how to spend it best, which includes investment at various levels, personal, local, and global. The mindset is completely upside down. The notion that problems get solved at the Federal level is insane - disproven by every socialist or communist government ever.
True, over-spending is the problem, not under-taxing...............
The Laffer Curve is “value neutral”.
It is just data analysis and math.
Policymakers are too stupid to either understand it or implement it anyway—so there is that.
;-)