I:DEA 4 – Why Are Politicians Taxed, Burdened and Straining for a Sane Tax Policy?

Taxes are the cornerstone issue in the current national political contest for party dominance in the up-coming elections. There will be plenty of other issues: jobs, jobs, jobs, defense & security, social safety net areas (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Health-care); but interwoven into all these issues will be the heated core issue of taxes. This is not really surprising if you step back and consider that the entire concept of government is based on an understanding that there is “no such thing as a free lunch’. If there is to be a function of government then there has to be taxes to pay for it. So for the radical few that contend that the government has no right to tax people, they need to resolve two things; first: you need to get everyone else to agree that they don’t need anything from the government, second: you need to clarify what the Founding Fathers meant by tax in the Constitution.

So if you acknowledge the necessity of taxes, you are also smart enough to move to the next step concerning the taxes issue. The tax issue is presented by the various interested Parties as the government overtaxing the country, the government has allowed special interest groups to bias the tax code into benefiting the few to the detriment of the many, the government’s tax policies are discouraging/preventing businesses from investing and creating jobs, the tax code is not fair and equal, the big government-types want to redistribute wealth in the country, the government can’t create jobs, or ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. And oddly, none of these are a good, intelligent, informed, prudent or worthwhile representations of the tax issue. That probably explains why our politicians relate to them so well.

The tax issue is: what is an appropriate tax policy that enables the government to fulfill its multitudinous roles and responsibilities and simultaneously promoted a vibrant and robust society and economy? To answer that issue and to present a candidate specific (or Party-specific which is more the norm) approach requires your candidate to develop a detailed plan. Have you seen an actual plan that is well, a real plan, and a real policy?

If the current tax system works for you, then the candidate doesn’t have to do anything except say: “It’s working fine, don’t change a thing.” Not hearing a lot of that now are you? So we need to start hearing their alternatives.

This means that the proposal will have to explain what it means to tax the public fairly, equitably and beneficially. At the same time the tax plan proposal should explain how it will reward the creation of jobs and protects the viability of the private sector. And the tax approach will have to account for all the obligations that the government is intending to deliver, and what it is not going to deliver.

Independents should not expect too much here, since if politicians really had any good ideas they would hardly be waiting around to be elected to fix the country. They would present a rational plan that people would see the merits of and then see that it got implemented. Then getting elected would be a piece of cake. But politicians don’t know how to create a tax plan that is fair, because fair doesn’t make sense to them. The problem is that fair isn’t a simple and easy concept here. Fair requires an understanding and appreciation of any obligation of the poor in America. Fair needs to account for protections and privileges given by the government to one group but not to others in a free and equal society; so saving businesses at the cost of taxpayers is not equitable just because it is claimed that everyone benefits from it. Being saved imposes an obligation of returned value to the public. Fair has to accounts for the fact that an increasing concentration of wealth is dangerous to our freedoms, corrosive to our society and values, and injurious to the health of the nations’ economy. Being fair will have to go way beyond who pays more and who gets exemptions and credits. Being fair must accommodate the relationship that taxes have on how wealth is created and how a proper tax system would promote and maximize the creation of wealth within our society. Fair makes the nation stronger, more productive, safer, and preserves our freedoms. If you think this is easy, then either the politicians are really stupid or clearly it is not. Although I do have to admit that politicians are really stupid, despite the difficulty of developing a sound and fair tax system for the county.

Independents should be pressing and seeking better, clearer and smarter details on a candidate’s tax strategy and policy. When the answers you get don’t convince you that their plan shows you why it is fair and reasonable, you have to say that their plan is just another weak politician’s answer.