Sunday, March 24, 2013

Why conservatives need to listen to Bill Maher

4 comments:

  1. Not sure I agree with your point on

    But when you pay more than half your income to the government, that's socialism.

    I think this is just the progressive income tax at work. Seeing that the current federal income tax for top tax brackets has been historically very low the past decade, your comment above begs the question, Has America been a socialist state the past century? I would say the answer to that question is a resounding no.

    Also on a more technical note, Socialism is government control over the means of production, and I'm not sure how taxes work into this definition.

    Keep in mind I'm not saying that 50 percent is an optimal number. In fact, given that we are still climbing out of a recession, I am opposed to the tax increases in the Senate D's budget. However, I wouldn't go as far as to say that it is socialism.

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    1. Thanks for the comment. And you raise a legitimate rebuttal in terms of the historical referencing. However, I think what's different about today's tax regime is that although taxable deductions still exist for high income individuals, those deductions are less significant than in previous decades. I would also argue that as it relates to production, human capital can realistically be considered under the impact of socialism.

      But again, great points - thanks. You might find this interesting - http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/britains-experience-in-raising-the-top-tax-rate/

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  2. That was a very good piece by Bruce Bartlett, who I consider to be a very fair and respectable economist. Most Liberals tend to ignore the behavioral effects of raising the income tax on specific tax brackets. However, I'm not sure how viable it is to compare Great Britain to the U.S.,

    It is difficult to say to what extent the recent British experience is relevant to the United States.

    but it's something to definitely consider when making tax legislation.

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  3. On a side note, this video isn't meant to undermine your point, but I think it realtes to our discussion

    http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/02/former-reaganite-makes-conservative-case-for-raising-taxes/

    Also the ending is funny (Bruce Bartlett gets a little angry)

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