14 December 2004
Flat Tax Only Sharpens the Divide
On the Wall Street Journal’s December 13, 2004, OpEd page, Mr. Summerlin misses one of the most important reasons for Blue State residents (and liberals elsewhere) to resent what is done by the government with the money they disproportionately pay in taxes. The issue is that graduated income taxes are wastefully spent on the products of business enterprises who have gained dominance over the decision-making process in our government. Expensive public relations budgets are the biggest item in our officials’ re-election campaigns. That is how certain business enterprises’ financial health demands the survival of their biggest customer, the federal government.
Unfortunately, continued residence by liberals in the Blue States may portend a decision of many of them to flee the country rather moving to Red States in order to reduce their tax burdens. It has been reported that emigration to Canada has increased in recent years. Political and cultural affinity trumps affordable cost of living. The flat tax puts these alternatives in sharp contrast. It may be less expensive for wealthy taxpayers to pay in direct proportion to the level of income, but it is considered by most Blue Staters to be unfair.
On the Wall Street Journal’s December 13, 2004, OpEd page, Mr. Summerlin misses one of the most important reasons for Blue State residents (and liberals elsewhere) to resent what is done by the government with the money they disproportionately pay in taxes. The issue is that graduated income taxes are wastefully spent on the products of business enterprises who have gained dominance over the decision-making process in our government. Expensive public relations budgets are the biggest item in our officials’ re-election campaigns. That is how certain business enterprises’ financial health demands the survival of their biggest customer, the federal government.
Unfortunately, continued residence by liberals in the Blue States may portend a decision of many of them to flee the country rather moving to Red States in order to reduce their tax burdens. It has been reported that emigration to Canada has increased in recent years. Political and cultural affinity trumps affordable cost of living. The flat tax puts these alternatives in sharp contrast. It may be less expensive for wealthy taxpayers to pay in direct proportion to the level of income, but it is considered by most Blue Staters to be unfair.
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