Happy Tax Day! That doesn't seem appropriate does it? OK, how about this: "I feel your pain" (I said that in a Clinton voice -- the president, not the Senator). Or how about: the tax man cometh and will be taking his share (which in our case is about half -- OK I exaggerated but it feels like that).
Anyway, Fred Thompson has an editorial in the Opinion Journal on taxes. He writes about the boost the economy got from the Bush tax cuts. I can't see how anyone can successfully argue with the fact that cutting taxes raises tax revenue. It's been proven to work every time it's tried and now we should put this debate to rest. The Democrats show their lack of understanding and their desire for your money by allowing the tax cuts to expire. They are woefully ignorant about how our economy works. That's why they can't be in charge of the government, they will wreck our economy.
And he also mentions that the wealthy are paying a greater share of the tax burden since the tax cuts (putting to rest the whole "tax cuts for the rich" mantra):
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this success story is where the increased revenues are coming from. Critics claimed that across-the-board tax cuts were some sort of gift to the rich but, on the contrary, the wealthy are paying a greater percentage of the national bill than ever before.And that the tax cuts will expire since the Democrats have decided not to renew them:
The richest 1% of Americans now pays 35% of all income taxes. The top 10% pay more taxes than the bottom 60%.
The reason for this outcome is that, because of lower rates, money is being invested in our economy instead of being sheltered from the taxman. Greater investment has created overall economic strength. Job growth is robust, overcoming trouble in the housing sector; and the personal incomes of Americans at every income level are higher than they've ever been.
Now, as before, politicians are itching to fund their pet projects with the short-term revenue increases that come from tax hikes, ignoring the long-term pain they always cause. Unfortunately, the tax cuts that have produced our record-breaking government revenues and personal incomes will expire soon. Because Congress has failed to make them permanent, we are facing the worst tax hike in our history. Already, worried investors are trying to figure out what the financial landscape will look like in 2011 and beyond.This needs to be a major component of all the advertising for the Congressional races. People need to be educated about this. If the Congress remains in the hands of the Democrats, this economy will suffer because they will raise our taxes to pay for peanut subsides and other things this nation can do without.
This issue is particularly important now because massive, unfunded entitlements are coming due as the baby-boom generation retires. We simply cannot afford higher taxes if we want an economy able to bear up under the strain of those obligations. And beyond the issue of our annual federal budget is the nearly $9 trillion national debt that we have not even begun to pay off.
BTW, I wasn't going to blog about Fred Thompson today but someone (I don't publish names unless the sender says it's ok) sent me the link. Samantha said that I blog about Fred Thompson too much and was complaining because I had thirteen posts about him. So I was going to make it a Thompson free day, oh well.
Samantha, this one doesn't count because it's about taxes. I was going to wish everyone a happy tax day anyway.
