Tax the Rich!

March 10, 2019

Tax the rich they say. It will solve our problems. It will pay for everything we want. It will fix our economy.

Seems logical, even if not that fair. Their tax bracket is already higher than ours. The top 10% or American earners contributes about 70% of the total federal revenue taxes.

But maybe they should pay more. They don’t need nor deserve all their money while we struggle paycheck to paycheck, right?

What is it that the rich have, and we don’t? Oh… right… money!

Money makes it easy for the rich to get out of a country that wants too much. And getting out is what the rich do. Because they can.

Ask the French how taxing the rich worked for them. The answer? It did not.

The rich left. They took with them their money. A tax deficit was created. Regular people saw their taxes go up.

Recently, an extra tax has been added on retirees’ pensions. The population is now on the hook for the significant decrease in tax revenues.

France is far away, and we may think that Americans are better people. Our rich, of course, will stay put and gladly pay. Or will they?

Last week, New York’s governor was complaining about a big tax shortfall. The rich are leaving the state. What can that Governor do? Lower the tax rates? Will the rich trust it and come back? Raise the taxes on everyone left? Create new ones?

Ironically, even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s mother left New York to save on taxes. She is now a Florida resident.

The thing is, we need the rich. We don’t want them to bolt. We want them here, cozy and safe, giving us their share. Even if we think that 37% is not enough, 37% is still a lot better than nothing.

We want our rich to stay. We want them to spend their money here.

We want them to hire nannies, chauffeurs, maids, butlers, landscapers, architects, private chefs, security guards, whomever.

We want them to invest in new companies. We want them to create more jobs. We want them to patron museums and libraries. We want them to fund scholarships. We want them to eat in our restaurants. We want them to shop in our stores.

We do not have to like them, but we do not need to be rude to them. We certainly don’t want to scare them away. We need them here, willing to make more money, being their ambitious selves, and paying their taxes.

Katrin L.