Taxing the Intelligence of Politicians

Why is it that I don’t have high expectations for the “Romney Rule”, the “Buffett Rule” or any “Rule” that politicians are capable of formulating? Oh yes! It’s because politicians are only capable of thinking in a one track / rut of either cut taxes or raise taxes. If you think I meant that Republicans only think of one of these options and Democrats only the other then you are stuck in a parallel rut. The answer to taxes and fair tax treatment is not to be found in the minds or plans that our members of Congress, our President or President-in-hoping, the political parties, or well pretty much any group who harp about one point or another.

The tax issue is a challenging test for our politicians; they have an opportunity to make a difference, to create an approach and policy for taxation. Developing a solution to the tax issue would allow an intelligent politician to demonstrate his/her competence and appreciation of a crucial element of our governmental and democratic system. They could show the public how to make a far more sensible tax system than the one that has evolved, been distorted and corrupted by politicians and special-interests to the disadvantage of the general public, and that has not kept current with either the financial realities of our economic environment or with the changing impacts that the current policies have created to the detriment of the nation’s fiscal viability.

The “Romney Rule”, the “Buffett Rule”, the “Bush tax cuts”, and the plethora of quaint platitudes employed to support any given politician’s position do not demonstrate an understanding of the problem or the complexity of taxes and tax policies’ consequences within our economy and society. These catch-phrases and sound-bites demonstrate rather the true problem, burden and obstacle to Americans and their taxes. Politicians and their ilk continue to show that they do not understand, have a clue or even know enough to know they are the most significant factor that constitutes the tax problem. They may be the worst obstacle to addressing our tax problem, but they are only marginally running ahead of numerous groups who have their own ‘simple’ solutions. I will admit that their proposals are simple, but not that they are solutions.

Even though politicians can’t think of a rational tax system, they could present an alternate version of their own plan that keeps everything that they see as the solution but which adds a ‘consequences’ plan. If the results that they ‘promise’ will result from their plan don’t materialize then the ‘consequence’ portion of the plan kicks in. It’s sort of a “I didn’t know that was going to happen” safety valve.

I don’t expect politicians to do this of course. It has three problems: 1. They would have to think of a ‘consequence policy’, 2. They would have to adhere to the consequence and not ‘stand up’ and deliver, and 3. They would have to be much smarter than they are since it requires being able to understand concepts beyond ‘raise taxes’ (more) and ‘cut taxes’ (less). Consequences require you to be able to actually think.

What our Republican and Democratic leaders won’t do is find people who can lead them by the hand through the thorny issue and show them how to enter into a new tax system that benefits the whole spectrum of Americans.