Friday, March 7, 2008

Small Business Man Love Tax Cuts!

So I was talking to this dude yesterday about insurance junk and the second he found out I was a small business man I felt him relax in his language and his posture. He then started talking to me about how Obama and Clinton are obsessed with taking the wealth from everybody and giving it to the poor.

Ayep.

I see this all the time. People, Republicans in specific, seem to assume that Small Business Owner = Republican. Why? I can only imagine it has something to do with taxes and how business folks hate taxes. Well holy damn crap, this just in...EVERYBODY frickin' hates taxes. News flash. We also hate tetanus shots and dental procedures, but ya know...just because something feels bad, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it (Colonoscopies...get 'em while they're hot).

So, as a small business owner, I would like to take this opportunity to say I am NOT a REPUBLICAN. Am I a Democrat? I dunno. Maybe. They bug me quite a bit too...but...

Here's the thing I don't get. Okay, you look at the countries that the US is or has been TERRIFIED of in terms of competitiveness...the USSR, CHINA, Japan! All highly socialized nations, right? RIGHT?

Now let's look at countries with significantly lower tax burdens than us...Romania, Portugal, Luxembourg, MEXICO!...are we picking up on a theme here? Up to a certain point, nations do not get CRUSHED or fail because of taxes. The US didn't really become a major world power until after a 1913 constitutional amendment that made large scale income tax viable. Indeed, the income tax didn't really start to see a large and permanent hike until the 1940s.

Now...for all y'all who want to live in 19th century America, you're more than welcome to go back to the days of un-inspected meat, no technology investment, and a modest army. I'm sure there are some nice Central American nations you can join. I hear Belize is nice. But I think in our heart of hearts we all love the America that sent us to the moon, crushed the spread of Stalinist Style Communism, and dominates the geopolitical stage. A healthy level of taxation was exactly the fuel a strong and organized US Government needed to accomplish those feats.

But OOOH NOOOO...the Republicans think tax cuts feel SOOO GOOD. Oh yeaaaah...ohh...TAX cuts...ooh BABY...Oh GOD, it feels SOO gooooood. Mmm...tax cuts. Who cares if a healthy revenue stream keeps America strong and a restriction on borrowing keeps our national future strong...tax cuts just feel too good. And if it feels good, you do it apparently.

What it comes down to is...between a certain point on the Laffer Curve, taxation is beneficial to the US in the Long Term. We really shouldn't give in to the Republican adage "If it feels good, do it."

1 comment:

esp said...

Hey...you make my pioneer, 19th century dreams sound weird.