Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich - WSJ.comYou ever notice that when 'fair' enters the picture, other considerations just seem to vanish?With states facing nearly $100 billion in combined budget deficits this year, we're seeing more governors than ever proposing the Barack Obama solution to balancing the budget: Soak the rich. Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon want to raise income tax rates on the top 1% or 2% or 5% of their citizens. New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50% increase in the income tax rate on the wealthy because this is the "fair" way to close his state's gaping deficit.
Oddly enough - the rich are vanishing also. You see, they're not fixed resources like a coal mine or an oil well - they're living, mobile, and have the resources to pack up and bug out when conditions get unfavorable.
I don't think it's much of a coincidence that California, New Jersey, and New York are all losing people, (pardon, losing productive people...) while the economic state in Illinois and Delaware could best be described as 'iffy'.
Well, we'll see - but I think that the states that do this will end up losing more than they're gaining. Perhaps they ought to try cutting back the expenses instead of 'soaking the rich' for a quick buck.
J.
Comments (1)
It has long been known, because it has been demonstrated in many different jurisdictions in many different countries in many different centuries, that if you reduce taxes you increase government revenues. It has also long been known that politicians have no sense of history, and elected officials have even less than others.
Posted by John C. | July 1, 2009 9:11 PM
Posted on July 1, 2009 21:11