With all the furor over taxes and socialism in America, I’ve become frustrated with the absence of reporting by the media on the true liberal case for raising taxes on the rich. Of course, there have been some good arguments, but they usually aren’t given the chance to be made clearly, and most supposed liberal advocates are weak and ineffective.
Many rich people in this country became successful by working hard, so the argument is they should be able to keep what they’ve earned. Sure, they should be able to enjoy the benefits of their hard labor, but it is also incumbent upon them to give back to the country that was great enough in the first place to afford them opportunities enabling that success.
The real problem is greed. They never have enough money. They always want to be richer, no matter what they have to do. If they have to cut benefits for workers, reduce wages, outsource jobs or lobby the government and buy politicians, so be it.
Our forefathers recognized that greed for consolidated political and religious power, as opposed to money, was at the core of many European social and political disasters. In their upgraded version of government, the architects of our Constitution sought to create a system where all citizens would be equal, regardless of class. Today, our governmental and economic systems run almost diametrically at odds with each other, partially due to poor rulings from our courts. That’s why government must reclaim its responsibility to ensure future generations have the same opportunities as ours. That responsibility manifests itself in due regulations on business practices, as well as responsible taxes on all people, including the wealthy.
If our nation intends to continue fulfilling the promises and ideals laid out in our founding and governing documents, the people, and by extension the government, will find it necessary to ensure economic opportunity is just as freely available as the opportunity to cast a ballot.