Inside the Liberal Mind
Hi All!
I don't do much on politics anymore, as it is well covered by smarter people than me.
That doesn't mean I'm not interested in politics anymore!
I subscribe to a web-based discussion group called "Minnesota Politics." It is pretty one sided these days, as conservatives have tended to choose blogging instead of flogging.
A fellow named Aaron Laffin wrote on the subject of progressive taxation. He came up with what to him was a perfectly logical thing for wealthy people to do if they don' t like paying a higher percentage of their income for taxes. Allow me to quote:
"I'd disagree that it is "immoral" to tax people at a higher rate when they make way more money than they need to live. It might be unfair, but those people can always choose to not make as much money."
And there you have the solution according to modern Amercian Liberal Thought. Of course, if the "wealthy" were to take Aaron's advice, there would be far less money to pay for all the programs that help the less fortunate (like Aaron, I suppose) get by.
Cheers!
posted by PK at 7/01/2005 08:47:00 AM
5 Comments:
Well the weathy could help the poor instead of constantly crying about why they cannot. Or they can wait until the have nots get fed up with those that have more than they could ever use and slaughter them all. Someone once said... A little revolution is a good thing every now and then.
Actually, Paul - MN Politics Discuss is a shell of it's former self. Some of the best liberal posters (Karl Bremer for example) have also left the list. So has Mitch Berg. The local lists - both Minneapolis and St Paul are thriving.
I still think the E Democracy Lists serve a purpose that blogs don't - and that is to bring together a community of people to discuss politics that don't normally do so.
MOB doesn't do that - MOB boots out dissenting voices except for Flash - who is a good friend of Mitch Berg's. Because of that, MOB appears to be more often than that, an echo chamber more than a source for original thought.
Ahh, that's a tactic I love. Take a quote from one person and use it to attack a whole philosphy.
Actually, I happen to know Aaron. Your assumption about him being "less fortunate" would be wrong....
The complete quote is:
That said, I'd disagree that it is "immoral" to tax people at a higher rate when they make way more money than they need to live. It might be unfair, but those people can always choose to not make as much money. I don't know, if I were to double my income, I still wouldn't hit that top bracket, but I'd be VERY happy to have the extra income even if some of it is taxed at a higher rate. I think most people would feel the same about such good fortune. Its just that conservatives find it easier to have sympathy with those who pay high taxes (and make an extreme amount if money) than those who struggle to put food on the table. Now that is immoral.
I guess it doesn't convey exactly the same thing as the short quote does. I was responding to a person who argued that it was immoral to tax a "minority" at a different rate. In this case the minority was high income earners.
As to the question posed by PK regarding what would happen if the wealthy were to take my advice, this is a strawman. PK did nothing to address the additional points of my commentary.
This is why conservatives don't post on forums like MN Politics. Its because they can't stand not preaching to the choir. Blogs have selective audiences while forums like MN Politics still have a balanced set of members. I found out about this post by a friend who googled my name. Its easy for PK to post this here when it won'be be challenged. I would have appreciated PK's comments in the forum. Otherwise they only serve to grind his/her axe as the tone here is to belittle the "liberal mind". Apparently the conservative mind doesn't need to debate this, but instead air it to the choir.
--aaron
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