Just One Reason Not to Follow the British and their Socialism

Alistair Darling, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, just announced a tax hike for the top wage earners in the UK, raising the tax rate from 40% to 50% on incomes of 150,000 pounds and higher.  In case you’re wondering, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the British cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters.  And another tidbit, 150,000 GBP is equal to 218,230 USD.  That’s a lot of money for most people, but when you cut what they actually get in half, it’s not quite so much.

I don’t care what the reasoning or the situation, there is no way to justify taking half of a person’s income away from them and giving it to the government.  This is a direct result of overspending, government expansion, and social programs that were never necessary.  Bad decisions were made to get their economy to this point, but making a worse decision to fix it makes no sense.  Tax hikes to raise money during a recession is the worst idea ever.  Sound familiar?

I bring this up because this looks very similar to what we’re facing with our current President and Congress.  I’m the first one to agree that previous president George Bush fell short of being fiscally responsible.  But what’s done is done.  We have to move forward and make our current situation better.  Raising taxes on the people of an economy that is hurting is only a recipe for disaster.  The more money that’s taken away from individuals and families is more money that does not make it back into our economy.

And I don’t want to hear that Obama has cut taxes for 95% of Americans.  That’s just false.  First of all, half of those 95% don’t even have an income tax liability.  They pay NO taxes to begin with.  Immediately, that “tax cut” becomes a “welfare check.”  Secondly, raising taxes on the high income earners and businesses has the same effect on everyone.  The more money you take away from the wealthy, the less they spend.  When they spend less money, it hurts everyone.  Whether it’s in the form of a tax increase or loss of income, it has the same effect as a tax increase.  The net result is taking money away from the people that earned it and could spend it.

If you disagree, fine.  But please explain why.  Give me details.  Give us a coherent argument as to why excessive spending beyond our wildest imagination will not result in tax increases on everyone for many years to come.