Tax something, and there will be less of it. Subsidize something and there will be more of it. Taxing rich people and subsidizing poor people will cause there to be fewer rich people and more poor people.
“Taxing rich people and subsidizing poor people will cause there to be fewer rich people and more poor people.”
The top 1% account for 39% of income taxes. Scare them away and it would mean taxes would have to go up TWO-THIRDS (actually more due to disincentive effects of higher taxes) for the rest of us to make up the difference. So I, for one, am deeply GRATEFUL to these 1-percenters for their contribution to the tax coffers. I find the barely-disguised contempt and envy in those who derisively refer to them as “millionaires and billionaires” appalling. The vast majority of individuals in that tax bracket have earned their wealth, not inherited it. Thus, loading on an even higher burden onto their backs in my book is simply punishing the very success/hard work we ought to be encouraging.