Anti-American Tax Plan Preaches Tyranny, Not Fairness

When Joe Biden escaped from his Washington lair to hit the campaign trail, who could have guessed that he would come up with a slogan so perfectly suited to what his party is doing to America? Offensive inflection aside, his “back in chains” remark should be adopted by Republicans and used until the GOP wears it out. This election is going to hinge on an anti-American tax plan preaching tyranny and class warfare in the name of fairness to the middle class and underprivileged, who will remain in chains no matter what we do to the rich.

Obama tax plan is based on a lie.

Even the modestly higher earners targeted by the Obama tax plan pay a lot more in taxes than most Americans. When the president took office, low income households were paying 1% of their incomes in taxes, middle earners 11.1%, higher earners 23.2%, and the highest 28.9%.¹ Overall, 67.9% of federal taxes come from the highest earners.² The problem for Democrats is not that the wealthy don’t pay enough. The problem is that they have something left.

Legislating class warfare is anti-American.

Arguments for fairness in taxation have turned to cries to legislate class warfare. We watched Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s Fairness in Taxation Act come and go (see: Obama’s Plan for the Wealthy Is About Fleecing, Not Fairness). Proclaiming that we should “Make the rich pay their fair share,” Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave us this bit of gibberish in support of his Buffett Rule proposal, the Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012:

The Senate will get the chance to stand up for fairness when the Paying a Fair Share Act comes up for a vote tomorrow. This is just one step toward restoring the fundamental notion of fair treatment in our economic system. A straight deal is getting harder and harder to come by as special interests and super political-action committees pollute Washington.³

The calls for vengeance continue, all the way to the White House. Telling Americans to gang up and punish an enemy created to serve Democratic political ambitions is not fairness. It is profoundly anti-American policy grounded in tyranny.

Let’s tax the rich so Democrats can feast at the expense of the poor.

The poor don’t contribute other than by consuming when they can afford it. Sound harsh? Whether the protracted recession is by White House design or unforgivable policy blunders, the underprivileged are going nowhere and the middle class is not faring any better. The president disparages GOP trickle-down economics. Can he seriously believe that trickle down works when the money comes from big government spending, but is doomed to failure when it comes from tax rates that encourage private investment?

There is a silver lining here. If Democrats can keep their anti-American class war going until the opportunity presents to wreak vengeance on the wealthy, then politicians, bureaucrats, and special interests who claim to support fairness will win big. The middle class and underprivileged? Who cares? They are the excuse, not the reason, and serve their purpose by remaining in chains, where they provide the most value for Democrats and our president.

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