tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931783049655504855.post1156832743114489447..comments2023-09-09T00:48:12.875-07:00Comments on Perspective From The Summit: The Morality of Redistribution - A Final ThoughtMatt Guerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433397955119179231noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931783049655504855.post-82687551963005418122009-05-12T20:10:00.000-07:002009-05-12T20:10:00.000-07:00Luke,
Welcome to Perspective From The Summit, an...Luke, <br /><br />Welcome to Perspective From The Summit, and thanks for your comment. As a fiscally conservative proponent of smaller government I certainly won't argue with the idea that much government spending is questionable, wasteful, and worthy of the axe.<br /><br />That said, Brooks' point in this is a bit more philosophical than simply "more people should help pay." He's arguing that when a majority of the electorate pays nothing, they feel no resistance to taxing the bloody daylights out of the minority who still do pay. That's what Brooks meant by his comment that some fiscal progressives are fighting a war of attrition using economic weapons.<br /><br />Put another way, the fewer people actually pay taxes the less incentive there is for the majority to rid the government of wasteful spending as you suggest. After all, the majority isn't paying for the waste (and may be benefiting from it). So why bother?Matt Guerinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05433397955119179231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931783049655504855.post-68253250375230833992009-05-12T19:49:00.000-07:002009-05-12T19:49:00.000-07:00Focusing so much attention on tax policy distracts...Focusing so much attention on tax policy distracts us from the real issue. While I believe that social engineering via tax policy is immoral, the real issue is spending. Most, if not all, tax policy discussions agree on one thing: revenue neutrality. This means that nearly all arguments in favor of changing tax policy boil down to decreasing taxes on one group of people (those proposing the change, or their constituents) and increasing taxes on everyone else. Let's stop arguing about who should pay for these government programs and start cutting the programs themselves.Marlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932734012942222075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931783049655504855.post-2370716478350183012009-05-12T13:46:00.000-07:002009-05-12T13:46:00.000-07:00he, he... ooops.
try it now.
:)he, he... ooops.<br /><br />try it now.<br /><br />:)Matt Guerinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05433397955119179231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931783049655504855.post-24435080089875477632009-05-12T12:18:00.000-07:002009-05-12T12:18:00.000-07:00I'd love to read the article, but your link is bro...I'd love to read the article, but your link is broken. Oops!Mitchnoreply@blogger.com