Fairness and pain ...
The pain in taxation results from an unfair tax system. Two key decisions need to be made: Who pays and how much? We're in the current mess because those who make these decisions are engaged in spending someone else's resources, and as such, will not endeavour to extract the maximum utility in the process. Those who pay are those who have. Unfortunately, those who have are also those who produce, and discouraging this production harms both those who have and those who don't. The 'how much' question is tougher, because too much is as harmful as too little. In a democracy, in theory, the citizens decide this question through their elected representatives. Since the hands that distribute tax dollars is usually praised more than the hands which earn and pay tax dollars, we experience a continued upward pressure on spending as our representatives soon learn that their personal rewards for holding elected office vastly outweigh any benefits they would themselves enjoy if they were to put the interests of the nation ahead of their own.
A solution, which would work in theory but not in practice, would be to link a citizen's voting rights to his taxpaying obligations. Democratic theory says one citizen has one vote. Let her also pay one tax. Currently, the heavily burdened taxpayers are not receiving representation in equal measure to their contribution. Didn't King George discover Americans don't approve of this practice in the 1700s?
Cheers, PW.
P.S. Successful politicians convince the electorate that paying more taxes is beneficial. Profoundly successful politicians convince others to propagate this same myth on their behalf. |
