Wiseacre
Retired USAF Chief
I've seen this assertion before on this forum regarding rich people. Essentially it goes like this: the rich got rich because our society in the form of gov't provided for certain benefits such as roads, bridges, schools, police, fire, etc. So, the rich people owe at least a part of their success to society because they used those benefits to make their wealth. Therefore they have an obligation to repay that debt, and the richer you are the more you should pay in the form of higher taxes to the gov't. It's partly a fee for services provided in the past and paying forward so others can take advantage of the same benefits in the future.
The question is how to discharge that obligation, or even if there IS an obligation. It's not like a rich person gets a choice, the infrastructure was built for everybody to use. The rich guy finds a way to make a bundle of money using that infrastructure, why is he/she penalized for their entrepeneurship?
Even if you decide there is an obligation, why is it to the gov't? If you and I go out for dinner at a restaurant and you pick up the check (thanks!), do I owe the restaurant anything? The infrastructure we have in place today was paid for by us, the taxpayers; we don't have an obligation to the gov't for spending our money on roads, bridges, and schools.
There are other was to repay a debt to society that are highly likely to be more effective and efficient. Instead of paying extra tax dollars to a gov't that misuses much of it for political gain, I could instead use it to support a myriad of charitable organizations who are going to put that money to much better use. The argument that I should pay higher taxes because I became more prosperous than you using the very same infrastructure is nonsense.
The question is how to discharge that obligation, or even if there IS an obligation. It's not like a rich person gets a choice, the infrastructure was built for everybody to use. The rich guy finds a way to make a bundle of money using that infrastructure, why is he/she penalized for their entrepeneurship?
Even if you decide there is an obligation, why is it to the gov't? If you and I go out for dinner at a restaurant and you pick up the check (thanks!), do I owe the restaurant anything? The infrastructure we have in place today was paid for by us, the taxpayers; we don't have an obligation to the gov't for spending our money on roads, bridges, and schools.
There are other was to repay a debt to society that are highly likely to be more effective and efficient. Instead of paying extra tax dollars to a gov't that misuses much of it for political gain, I could instead use it to support a myriad of charitable organizations who are going to put that money to much better use. The argument that I should pay higher taxes because I became more prosperous than you using the very same infrastructure is nonsense.