Anyone who has read this blog faithfully, and there may be one or more people who have, know that I’m a big fan of high tax rates on the rich.
So it was with much satisfaction that I read this post by Paul Krugman, in which he explains, using math I cannot understand, that the rich can be taxed at rates of 70% or higher without endangering any job creation that their high incomes might engender. This is in accord with our historical experience, for there were times when the rich were taxed at very high rates in this country, and jobs got created just fine. Good jobs too, far better than the Willards of the world are spinning off. I mean, how many caretakers can the rich hire to look after their second, third, fourth and fifth homes? Of course, this all runs contrary to Republican orthodoxy, but that’s pretty much a sure sign that it’s good doctrine.
So far as I’m concerned, taxing the rich has less to do with increasing revenue or with creating jobs than it does with minimizing inequality. Even if someone could prove, all historical evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, that giving the rich lower tax rates than the rest of us creates jobs, I’d still be against such tax rates. But isn’t it nice to know that, as we suspected, on this issue we can have our cake and eat it too?
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