Reply To: Atlas Shrugged and the Torah

yytz, I’ll engage you on that. You wrote a lot so let me see if I can fairly distill it and see what I think.

I will put my characterization of your points in blockquote.

1. The taxes in this country are not in form of the poor taking from the rich and keeping for themselves, since they also pay sales taxes and some other excise taxes.

2. People who get more than they pay in one year may give more in a different year.

3. Even if people are getting more in their lifetime than they pay, they are not the majority, so I am not correct that they are using their votes to do this.

4. Even if they are the majority, it is not stealing because they need it to survive.

5. The wealthy are willing to give it to avoid being robbed from on an individual basis.

6. Rich people should view it as a form of insurance in case they become poor.

7. Money is also spent on other stuff, and perhaps the rich people are getting value through that.

Here is my thinking, point by point.

1. No, I think you have to view it on a net basis, as you say later. Blazes, they are paying those sales taxes with the food stamps and EITC I gave them.

2. Sure, but most people know around where they’ll be for the foreseeable future. But that is probably why we don’t hit the 51% percentile and above so hard, because people think they might be in it. That is why the rhetoric goes after the “1%”.

3. I think they are quite close to a majority. But that is not really the point–there is plenty of political power without being an actual majority. Case in point: Chareidim. Certainly you agree the chareidim are doing this even though they are not actually a majority.

4. No, that is exactly stealing.

5. That is also exactly stealing. If I don’t give it you’ll riot and kill me.

6. I might have reasons to give it. How about I’ll decide that–not you.

7. I think it is unarguable that the largest point of our tax system is to redistribute wealth. Sure, some of it comes back to the rich people, and that part of it I am ok with. But I don’t think that “kashers” the rest of it.

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch.” –Ben Franklin