Brian Beckley again displays his rather egregious ignorance of economics in his last column (Courier-Herald, Aug. 10), but feels fully capable of dictating to us the cure for our current sinking ship of state. His purpose was apparently to attempt to guilt us into higher taxes on those that still have jobs and are still working. Keep in mind that near 50 percent of the population of the U.S. don’t pay income taxes but most do get checks from government. How bout having them put some skin in the game? Brian uses examples of government employees that will not be drawing a nongovernment taxpayer-funded check. Bryan’s logic breaks down because he refuses to acknowledge that in order for a government worker to get a check nearly double the pay amount has to be taken from nongovernment workers. Government has no money of its own, creates nothing and can only spend what it takes in by threat of force. Government employees, paid by taxpayers, spend the money they earn but it’s a wash; they don’t create anything, just spend expropriated funds.
The Congressional Budget Office stated that if we leave tax rates alone, meaning leave the Bush rates in place, (Really! After nearly three years and the rate reductions reauthorized by your god, Brian, shouldn’t it be known as Obama’s tax cuts for the wealthy?) the federal government would collect more revenue not lose it. Locally, Brian might better ask Queen Gregoire where the millions from the Indian gambling casinos are since she signed off on an agreement for them to pay nothing to the state to operate, as long as they (nod-nod-wink-wink) kick in several million dollars to the re-election bids of Democrats each election cycle. How bout they pay their fair share?
Has Brian looked at what the costs of government in Washington have come to? Full- and part-time government employees, 573,000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2011); total to pay them with tax (your) money: $573 million not including all the other general costs of a government. Washington state as of 2010 had a population of 6,724,540 people (one state employee per each 11 citizens); that’s $11,735.68 in taxes per person just to pay the employees. I have not figured the costs to each of us for the proposed 2011-13 budget for Washington government, $75.5 billion dollars. You do the math.
The other problem with Brian’s talking point is that he never can imagine that people will change behavior to avoid paying when taxes go up. When taxes go up, revenue goes down historically. (John Galt anyone?) Want to have a real discussion about taxes, Bryan? Stop withholding and make everybody write out and sign a check every month; there would not be a government in six months.
In July, employers (you know, the evil rich) continued not hiring, terrified of Obamacare costs and tax rate uncertainty among other things. The official unemployment rate dropped to 9.1 percent (really near 17 percent if you include those that stopped looking but not counted by O anymore). On these folks Bryan wants to raise taxes.
A tax policy that confiscated 100 percent of the taxable income of everyone in America earning over $500,000 in 2006 would only have given Congress an extra $1.3 trillion in revenue. That’s less than half the 2006 federal budget of $2.7 trillion and looks tiny compared to the more than $4 trillion (40 percent barrowed) Congress spent in fiscal 2010. Total debt including welfare entitlements? Arguably north of $60 trillion.
Obama’s proposed 10-year budget, (voted down by every Democrat in the Senate) wants to spend 24 percent of the USA’s Gross Domestic Product. In order to have that much to spend the national tax rate would have to be 24 percent of GDP which is 3 percent higher (in inflation=adjusted dollars) than we paid at the height of World War II.
“We have tried spending money. We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work… We have never made good on our promises…I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started…And an enormous debt to boot!”
Henry Morgenthau Jr., secretary of the treasury from 1934 to 1945, in his personal diary commenting on the FDR stimulus spending programs.
Bryan and the rest of the socialist apologists aren’t just watching and helping the ship (of state) sink; they and he are rearranging the deck chairs on a ship that has already hit the iceberg, hoping that this entertainment will distract us from what they have done to us.
Craig Sarver
Bonney Lake
