Sorry, But The Republican Arguments Against A "Millionaire's Tax" Are Just Preposterous (BARF)

Business Insider ^ | 09/18/2011 | Henry Blodget

[SeekAndFind]

he Republicans have had 12 hours to digest the news that President Obama plans to propose a "Millionaire's tax" on annual incomes over $1 million.

As expected, they're freaking out.

And if they had a good argument as to why such a tax was a terrible idea, we'd be happy to say so. But so far anyway, they don't.

Obviously, no one likes higher taxes. And it's no surprise that the potential target of higher taxes will squawk in protest as soon as the idea is proposed. But if the country is to begin to find a way out of its massive debt-and-deficit problem, it's important to separate the self-interested squawking from actual logic.

The Republic arguments against Obama's millionaire's tax boil down to the following:

Raising taxes on millionaires will kill their ambition and discourage them from working

Raising taxes on millionaires will punish successful people for being successful

Raising taxes is always a terrible idea--the problem is spending

Taxes are a form of theft: The government has no right to take our money away

Raising taxes in a weak economy will further weaken the economy

Of these reasons, only the last one is valid. Raising taxes in a weak economy might, in fact, further weaken the economy (or the private sector, anyway). This weakening effect will certainly be less than it would if one raised taxes on the middle class, but it still could weaken the economy. And that's why it's important to consider the tax carefully and phase it in over time.

Just admit it: He's right on this one.

The rest of the Republican counter-arguments are just silly, self-serving, or obstructionist. Let's take them one by one, ending with the one that seems most persuasive to reasonable people.

[Kellis91789]

Exactly. The same holds true of individuals in control of their income, either as captains of industry or investors. They lobby and foster shelters and loopholes as a means of self defense against the plunderers. It wouldn’t be worth their while to try to game the tax code if the rate was only 10%, but at 35+% it becomes very much worthwhile.

Considering 10% is all the tax rate we’d need on individuals even if corporate income taxes were eliminated, it is kind of pathetic that we put up with the climate of corruption this tax code engenders.

[TexasRepublic]

One more step down the road toward total Communism. First they came for the millionaires, and I said nothing.....

[Pontiac]

"Raising taxes on millionaires will discourage society's most productive people from working." This is the argument that even reasonable people sometimes espouse. But it's absurd. No one is proposing raising the top tax bracket to 90%, the way it was in the 1950s (when, by the way, the economy was tremendously successful). No one is proposing raising it to even 80% or 70% or 60%. Even the most aggressive tax-rich-people proponents are talking about raising the top bracket a few percentage points, to the Clinton era 39% or so. Anyone who says with a straight face that successful, ambitious people will kick back in a chez longue because the government is going to take 40 cents of every dollar in income instead of 35 cents is an idiot, an ideologue, or a liar.

The Progressives all ways trot out the 90% tax rates of the 50s to tell us that progressive tax rates are good or at least not damaging to the economy.

What they never mention is that top marginal rates do not mean that the rich ever really paid those rates. The rich are rich because they are smart resourceful people who not only know how to make money but how to hang on to it. The rich find ways to protect their income from taxes. They employ experts to help them.

The trouble with this is that in forcing the rich to jump through hoops to keep their money is that it interferes with the efficiency of the market place. Tax loop holes that are used by the rich to shield their money from taxes are written by law makers at the behest of special interest groups who are looking for an advantage; So money is diverted to a place in the economy that it would not otherwise be.

The market place is most efficient and most productive when taxes are simple and low. A productive market place also produces the highest income to the government.

If the idea is to increase revenue to the government lower taxes and simplify the tax code.

[LtKerst]

if the country is to begin to find a way out of its massive debt-and-deficit problem,..........

Step 1,..November 3rd 2012.......fire the Traitors.

Step 2,...Grand Jury hearings.arrest the crooks.

Step 3,...gut Obama Care....

Geithner...Felony Lying
Barney’s Frank...Felony Lying
Maxiene Waters....Felony Stupid
Biden...Felony “Foot in Mouth” Retardism.
Michael Moore...Felony “Jabba the Hut”
Rachel Maddow..Felony Impersonating a Man.
Keith Uberman...Felony “impersonating a Pear”

[LtKerst]

if the country is to begin to find a way out of its massive debt-and-deficit problem,..........

Step 1,..November 3rd 2012.......fire the Traitors.

Step 2,...Grand Jury hearings.arrest the crooks.

Step 3,...gut Obama Care....

Geithner...Felony Lying
Barney’s Frank...Felony Lying
Maxiene Waters....Felony Stupid
Biden...Felony “Foot in Mouth” Retardism.
Michael Moore...Felony “Jabba the Hut”
Rachel Maddow..Felony Impersonating a Man.
Keith Uberman...Felony “impersonating a Pear”

[Lancey Howard]

[brityank]

OK Dear FReepers, let's refute this man's argument.

What's to refute?
Here's the real answer to their argument - Every damn one of them - right now - has the opportunity to simply cut a cheque for half of their 'income' and send it to the IRS. Would any of them do it? Not one!

Better idea - cancel ALL tax deductions, period. No allowances for oil or solar investments; no allowances for charity to self-created organizations; no allowances for taxes and fees paid out to other countries or tax bodies. Start there and quit spending money, and lets see where we stand!

[AdaGray]

Henry Blodget is the last person who should be talking about credibility.

[ballplayer]

Well one good reason is that it wont do a Damn thing to help the Debt, it will create more Hatred as that is what it is intended to do

[Crucial]

So we wsnt to reduce capital in the economy? So we can do what, stifle growth and jobs???

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Millionaires are the people who create "sustainable" jobs.

Jobs the government creates are not "sustainable."

[Crucial]

So we wsnt to reduce capital in the economy? So we can do what, stifle growth and jobs???

[CodeToad]

“but it is flat wrong.”

You obviously do not know numbers. $950 billion is all they hold as cash. Guessing that they hold “10X” their AGI of $2T, meaning $20 trillion, is just plain ignorant and the type of “logic” liberals use. Try cashing out of those massive stock holdings and watch the stock price tumble, not to mention just who the Hell are you going to sell to since every is losing their money.

[CodeToad]

BTW, the 2010 total annual personal employee income was $7,971B. Corporate profits reported were $1,800B. Not exactly that fake TurboTax/IRS report of $12.5T.

Our GDP is highly manipulated to include spending the same money twice: Counted when earned by an individual and counted again when taxed and spent again. We also do not count money paid to overseas suppliers and manufacturers. If a corporation pays $1 to China to make a product and sells that product here for $2, we count $2 as GDP, but it isn’t. Our GDP has never above $10T.

People are the only real consumers of wealth, not corporations or government. If a person doesn’t see it then it might as well not exist. Personal incomes were around $8 trillion. That’s it. That is our wealth. GDP is not a value for personal wealth. It is a value, manipulated as it is, of production. GDP can say we made widgets of all kinds but if those widgets do not sell and a person makes a profit they might as well not exist. I don’t pay my mortgage or buy food by saying, “Gosh, I only made $1 but my corporation holds $2 in inventory and $3 in stock!”

[Kellis91789]

I’m not about to try to educate you on economics. If you aren’t willing to accept the numbers published by the BEA and the IRS, then there is no point. You will just make up whatever numbers you feel like. You obviously can’t handle the truth.