A MINORITY VIEW
BY WALTER WILLIAMS
RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2011
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Eat the Rich
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*********** I've often said that I wish there were some humane way to get rid of the rich. If you asked why, I'd answer that getting rid of the rich would save us from distraction by leftist hustlers promoting the politics of envy. Not having the rich to fret over might enable us to better focus our energies on what's in the best interest of the 99.99 percent of the rest of us. Let's look at some facts about the rich laid out by Bill Whittle citing statistics on his RealClearPolitics video "Eat the Rich."
*********** This year, Congress will spend $3.7 trillion dollars. That turns out to be about $10 billion per day. Can we prey upon the rich to cough up the money? According to IRS statistics, roughly 2 percent of U.S. households have an income of $250,000 and above. By the way, $250,000 per year hardly qualifies one as being rich. It's not even yacht and Learjet money. All told, households earning $250,000 and above account for 25 percent, or $1.97 trillion, of the nearly $8 trillion of total household income. If Congress imposed a 100 percent tax, taking all earnings above $250,000 per year, it would yield the princely sum of $1.4 trillion. That would keep the government running for 141 days, but there's a problem because there are 224 more days left in the year.
*********** How about corporate profits to fill the gap? Fortune 500 companies earn nearly $400 billion in profits. Since leftists think profits are little less than theft and greed, Congress might confiscate these ill-gotten gains so that they can be returned to their rightful owners. Taking corporate profits would keep the government running for another 40 days, but that along with confiscating all income above $250,000 would only get us to the end of June. Congress must search elsewhere.
*********** According to Forbes 400, America has 400 billionaires with a combined net worth of $1.3 trillion. Congress could confiscate their stocks and bonds, and force them to sell their businesses, yachts, airplanes, mansions and jewelry. The problem is that after fleecing the rich of their income and net worth, and the Fortune 500 corporations of their profits, it would only get us to mid-August. The fact of the matter is there are not enough rich people to come anywhere close to satisfying Congress' voracious spending appetite. They're going to have to go after the non-rich.
*********** But let's stick with the rich and ask a few questions. Politicians, news media people and leftists in general entertain what economists call a zero elasticity view of the world. That's just fancy economic jargon for a view that government can impose a tax and people will behave after the tax just as they behaved before the tax, and the only change is more government revenue. One example of that vision, at the state and local levels of government, is the disappointing results of confiscatory tobacco taxes. Confiscatory tobacco taxes have often led to less state and local revenue because those taxes encouraged smuggling.
*********** Similarly, when government taxes profits, corporations report fewer profits and greater costs. When individuals face higher income taxes, they report less income, buy tax shelters and hide their money. It's not just rich people who try to avoid taxes, but all of us -- liberals, conservatives and libertarians.
*********** What's the evidence? Federal tax collections have been between 15 and 20 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product every year since 1960. However, between 1960 and today, the top marginal tax rate has varied between 91 percent and 35 percent. That means whether taxes are high or low, people make adjustments in their economic behavior so as to keep the government tax take at 15 to 20 percent of the GDP. Differences in tax rates have a far greater impact on economic growth than federal revenues.
*********** So far as Congress' ability to prey on the rich, we must keep in mind that rich people didn't become rich by being stupid.
*********** Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Last edited by Fieldmouse; 04-14-2011 at 06:08 PM.
Here is the video to go along with William’s editorial. The new ideology of Corporations = Bad, Big Business = Bad, Making more than 250K = Bad so tax them more or take it all and it looks like the well runs dry in one year. So what then?
On a side note I checked into my doctor’s background before required major surgery next week. As of 2007 his small practice makes between 550k and 1mil annually, employs 5 employees, has a 4 out 5 rating by patients, no malpractice suits or sanctions from the medical board. So tax the hell out of him and he will either pass on the higher taxes or leave to a country that will be more tax friendly. Nothing like driving out quality because they make too much money in some people’s opinion and are considered evil! I have no insurance and unemployed yet his staff has help reduce the total costs (hospital, anesthesiologist, pathologist, etc.) to between a third and half of what it would have cost me if I had insurance. So it looks like to me that Big Insurance and Big Pharma = Bad! And No, I am not on any help programs (Government Assistance) I pay my own way so this is out of my pocket and loans.
Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.
Those filthy, disgusting, evil rich bastads. Wealth envy abounds.
as elemental as that is and as educated as the rich are you'd think they would've learned how to end the envy.
Lets take this simply by the notion that government is ignorant and the private sector extremely intelligent. If government is absolutely no match for the private sector...why are they still holding the upper hand?
Eat The Rich, Dr Williams flair.
