ejmoosa

Newspeak 1984 Style: Fair Flat Tax

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114014730255776724.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

In today's WSJ, we have two democrats who are taking and remaking the debate on taxes to their own liking. Stealing Steve Forbes' name for his plan, the Flat Tax, and then from Neil Boortz, the Fair Tax, they are making thei own plan that is neither fair nor flat.

Mr. Wyden is a Democratic senator from Oregon and a member of the Senate Committee on Finance. Mr. Emanuel is a Democratic congressman from Illinois and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. And what they are doing is attempting to add confusion to the discussion by using the same terms to identify their plan.

How disingenius. In George Orwell's book, 1984, words were redefined to mean things they did not, and the ability to communicate even simple concepts disappeared. Mr. Wyden and Mr. Emanuel seem prepared to do the same.

In their story, they compare a fictional policeman and an investor, complaining that there are different levels of taxation for the two. A policeman making $70, 000 pays 25% to the feds, while the investor pays pays 15%. First of all, this could be false from the start. If the investor had short term gains, his rates would be much higher.

But the real difference is why the income is taxed at different rates. The policeman stands absolutely zero chance of losing his income while working. The investor has a chance to lose ALL that he has invested. To get the investor to even take that chance, we have the lower rates, greater reward for greater risk.

I hope that Mr. Forbes and Mr Boortz come out swinging at this sleezy attempt to generate even more confusion in the ongoing tax debate. The only winners will be the politicians, who continue to profit from the chaos they create.

posted by EJ @ 11:01 AM