When we soak the rich, we all get wet

With the Democrats in charge of our government, one familiar refrain we have heard a lot and will continue to hear is how it is time for wealthy people to “pay their fair share.” Rich folks got way too much in the way of tax cuts when the Republicans were in charge, the reasoning goes, and they will not be so fortunate with the party of the common man running the show.

I’ll be the first to admit that rich people can be pretty annoying. There is something that seems fundamentally unfair about the fact that there are people walking around wearing shoes that cost more than my entire wardrobe. So why shouldn’t rich old Uncle Moneybags pony up a little more at tax time when there are so many of us struggling just to get by?

Well maybe he should, but I think there is an important point that tends to get lost when we get on these “soak the rich” kicks. There seems to be an assumption on many people’s part that there are no real consequences for taxing the wealthy. That is a very misguided and dangerous assumption.

To illustrate the point, let’s try a little thought experiment.

Imagine that, tomorrow, you win the lottery. The lottery is going to pay you, say, $10 million a year for the rest of your life. Congratulations - you’re rich, and the rest of us hate you. Now let’s say that the first year, the tax rate for someone like you is 25%, or $2.5 million. Then let’s say the next year the Democrats take over, and your tax rate goes up to 50%, or $5 million.

You still have $5 million a year to live on, the rest of us still hate you, and now the government has $5 million a year to do great things for the American people. So what’s the problem here?

Well, let’s say the tax rate had stayed the same (25%) instead of going up. What would you have done with that extra $2.5 million? Chances are that you wouldn’t have taken it home and stuffed it in a mattress.

Maybe you’re the conservative type, and you’d have put it in the bank. The bank would have used that money to make loans to people, perhaps to build houses or start businesses. Or maybe you’re a little more adventurous and you’d have invested it, or even started a business of your own. Either way, our ailing economy could have used that $2.5 million, but now it’s gone into Uncle Sam’s pocket.

Or maybe you’re a hedonist, and you’d have just blown that $2.5 on buying stuff, or taking trips. Still, when people buy things or spend money on travel that money gets plowed into the economy. Somebody has to build those expensive yachts and sports cars, and hotels and airlines employ lots of people too.

But once again, thanks to that 50% tax rate, you won’t be taking that trip around the world or buying that extra sports car this year. I don’t feel too sorry for you, but I might feel sorry for the guy who worked at the yacht factory or the clerk at the four star hotel who just lost his job thanks to our “soak the rich” tax policy.

I’m not arguing against a progressive tax policy here, I’m just saying that it is a mistake to assume that we can raise taxes on anyone, even those snooty rich folks, without there being negative consequences that reach out and touch all of us. Before we raise taxes on anyone we would be wise to ask ourselves what that money might have done for us if it hadn’t been taken out of the hands of private citizens and put into the hands of a federal government that has not always proven to be a wise steward of its finances.

My final Donald Walker column

It has been quite some time since I mentioned Warner Robins mayor Donald Walker’s name in this column. It’s been years, I suppose. But it wasn’t always that way. When I first started writing this column in 1998 for the now-departed Daily Sun, Walker was a constant presence in my work. And as far as I can remember, every single column I ever wrote about him was critical.

I disagreed strongly with Mayor Walker’s vision for the city and the surrounding area. He represented everything that bothered me about local politics in these parts. Walker and his contemporaries seemed to have an insatiable desire to build, build, and then build some more, and the faster the better. I always felt that there was a very small, select group of politicians and real estate tycoons who were getting rich from all the rapid-fire development that was taking place while the rest of us “enjoyed” higher taxes, choked roadways, overcrowded schools, and flooded back yards.

And yet like everyone else who lives in Houston County I was horrified by Mayor Walker’s sudden passing. It’s difficult to imagine Warner Robins without Mayor Walker and every time I drive by city hall the same thoughts hits me again – “I can’t believe he’s really gone.” But he is gone, and since the mayor was such a big part of my early writing career, I thought I would devote one final column to his memory.

I spent some time reflecting on the reason I stopped writing about Mayor Walker. I can remember how angry I used to get when I looked around the city and saw another strip mall going up. I remember arguing against every penny sales tax increase that was proposed to prop up our over-taxed infrastructure when it came up on the ballot. It was all too much, too fast, and I couldn’t understand why people kept sending the man most responsible for these “injustices” back into office.

But send him back they did. As it turned out, a lot of people in Warner Robins thought he was doing a great job. They enjoyed all the new restaurants and stores that were coming into their city. They liked the fact that city taxes seemed to keep going down instead of up. And, frankly, a lot of people just liked Donald Walker. I never had a chance to meet him in person, but people who knew him well all seemed to think he was a fine person who genuinely cared about the people he represented.

Eventually it became obvious to me why I stopped criticizing the mayor. It was just pointless. It was a battle I could never win because I was completely overmatched. This was a man who knew how to get what he wanted and was willing to do whatever he had to do to achieve his goals. It is very difficult to win against an opponent like that, and I never really had a chance.

It is always a tragedy when a man takes his own life, and we are right to mourn the untimely end of Donald Walker. But we should remember one thing when we think about his life – he accomplished what he set out to do. He had a big vision and he made it reality against some very long odds. How many people can say that, even if they live to be 100? Not many of us, I’m afraid. I’m 43 now and I am still just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.

I think everyone leaves a hole in the world when they depart, and the size of that hole varies depending on how many lives you have touched. Donald Walker left a hole the size of a city when he left us, and we’ll all be feeling that loss for a very long time.