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Social Taxation



http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2010/10/18/moral_arguments_for_soaking_the_rich_243979.html

The above is a link to an article called 'Moral Arguments for Soaking the Rich', from The New Republic magazine on line. You can read the entire article at the link. The essence of the argument is that the wealthy deserve to pay more in taxes because their wealth is not earned purely on their merit or hard work. They owe their wealth to two items beyond their effort or control- good fortune, in the form of loving parents, good schools or access to technology, and the work of forebears in technology and society. The specific point is made that less wealthy people work just as hard, and that the wealthy therefore are not especially deserving of their wealth on the basis of hard work.

I strenuously reject this argument. I do not assert that the wealthy work any harder than others; indeed, some very poorly paid people do dangerous work and/or work hard hours. Instead, the thesis of good fortune and resting on the shoulders of predecessors is flawed in its entirety.

The achievements of the wealthy are generally based on choices and education. The availability of college loans and grants has made quality education available for everyone who wants to go. This point has been well made in 'The Bell Curve'- the days of mail carriers with IQs of 150, and Harvard grads who are there through privilege and not mind are long over. The great bulk of the upper 2-3% of earners were not especially fortunate. They made choices and sacrifices to get the tools to earn their living. No one gave them to them, and they did not stumble upon them by accident.

I see so many young patients who start smoking at 14, begin having unprotected intercourse at 15, come in with STDs at 16, then are pregnant drug users who drop out of school at 17. These students receive the same public education my children did, including courses on sex education, drug use and contraception. They had the opportunity to do homework, not stay up late, not cut school; indeed, they were exhorted by teachers and, in most cases, by family members, to stay in school. Most of these individuals end up with low paying work all their lives, feeding children they never wanted to have.

In contrast, those 'fortunate, undeserving' wealthy worked hard, got grades, did not smoke, use drugs or get pregnant, stayed in school, often taking loans to be paid back at their own expense, and leveraged their effort into education that further leveraged their ability to earn money. This is not good fortune; it is hard work and good planning. The schools, loans, teachers and choices are available to all. It is offensive to say those that succeeded are somehow morally obligated by their success to differentially and excessively pay for governmental services. Pay their proportion, yes. Pay extra, no.

As far as owing success to prior efforts of others, that applies to all, successful or not. The same technology that gives us cell phones and lap tops leads one person to scholarly success and networking, and another into texting to arrange a drug buy or a sexual encounter. We all benefit from prior advances in society and technology. Whether those things are used for personal growth or destruction has nothing to do with the advances themselves and everything to do with the user.

The author presumes in his argument that the wealthy believe they are entitled to their money because they work harder, and do not realize they were more blessed in some way, or received their advantages from society's achievements. Those blessings were achieved through hard work, luck being only the residue of planning intersecting with opportunity. We all benefit from society's achievements. How we use them is a personal choice. And not a few of the wealthy, high achievers did so not from 'fortune', but in a burning desire to distinguish themselves in the face of the teasing and contempt of others.

In school, most of us who did well had the experience of someone trying to wheedle our notes out of us, or steal our papers, or look over our shoulders. Those who did so were jealous, and did not spend the time and effort needed to achieve on their own. It is in this same spirit of jealousy and an unwillingness to take responsibility for their own efforts that society wants to excessively tax those who achieve.

Those cheaters and manipulators in school rarely got anything from those who did the work. The same is true of taxes, where increases in rates only decrease revenue. The wealthy were smart enough to outwit the dependent slackers in school. They are still smart enough to avoid them when they try to express their lifelong jealousy through tax policy.

That wealth was earned, not stolen. There is no duty to society to pay extra simply as a tax on being successful, smart and hard working.

Ted

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