martybegan
Diamond Member
- Apr 5, 2010
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A Plutocracy will still need a massive federal bureaucracy; in a Plutocracy the laws, rules, regulations, etc. will be enacted and enforced by a bureaucracy bought, paid for and serving at the pleasure of the power elite. See any bureaucracy in any autocratic oligarchy for an example of repressive; your use of the word in context is silly.
Taxes are not punitive, taxes are. You see them as punitive unless they directly benefit you. Others see taxes as a means to provide services for the many, not simply the few.
Is there waste in government, you betcha. Believing it's the fault of one party or one person is naive and foolish. The problems is systemic, and the solution is not easy or explained in a sound bite.
Taxes as you described them WOULD be puntitive. You are taxing the richer dude more, not because you think he SHOULD pay more, but because you want him to have LESS MONEY, because you think his extra income should not lead to extra political clout.
Its all about intent, and your intent is to punish sucessful people.
If you are so scared of this plutocracy, you should be in favor of the smallest government possible. I find it comical people are more afraid of Xerox than an all powerful federal government.
History suggests the uber wealthy ultimately pay a price, for as power tends to corrupt absolutey, so does great wealth. It becomes a greater 'entitlement' to the power elite, greater than those the New Right suggest is that felt by Social Security and Medicare recipients; it has lead to revolution and to civil unrest as we've seen in North Africa, Greece and to a lesser extent to Wall Street in recent months.
There is more to fear from Xerox or Exxon Mobile or an Enron than to our government; we can toss out the incumbents in Congress and the White House with ease, all we need do is vote. The CEO of Xerox serves a limited constituency and as long as they make money they are happy.
Xerox doesnt have an army or a police force to keep it in power if it so chooses. Also if people really hated Xerox, they could just stop buying copiers from them. A corporation that cannot make money dies quickly. A government that cannot make money just has to increase taxes.