The idea of equality of opportunity used to be axiomatic, but that has fallen out of favor in certain fascist-curious circles (read: The Democrat Party), and has been replaced with a curious hodgepodge of confiscatory taxes, business-crushing regulation that emphasizes rent-seeking behavior, and a fascination with the impossible — equality of result. Although to be fair to the profoundly ignorant representatives touting the latest nonsense, they have no interest in prosperity for all…what they want is to drag everyone down to an equal level: squalid and poor, living in misery. But at least they will get reelected!
Democrats Propose Taxing Americans on How Wealthy They Are Compared to Median Households
“The Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harms (OLIGARCH) Act to tax extreme wealth, reduce inequality, and combat the threat to democracy posed by aristocracy,” said a July 26 press release. Introduced by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the OLIGARCH Act proposes taxing anywhere from 2 to 8 percent of the wealth held by the ultra-rich annually.
“Inequality in the United States is worse in 2023 than it was during the Gilded Age,” said Barbara Lee.
“It is unacceptable that millions of hardworking people remain impoverished, while the top 0.1 percent hold over 20 percent of the nation’s wealth.”
Of course this will go nowhere, because it’s insane. But the political philosophy behind it is worth examination. And that is easy, because it is simple; it is the politics of division. Pit one group against another, destroy national unity, degrade love of country, create a mindset that sees economic success as a zero-sum game, and poof! You have the progressive playbook.
But even their facts are carefully manipulated to create tension. For instance, while it is certainly possible that “inequality,” whatever that is, is worse now than during the Gilded Age (although I doubt it), the only valuable question is whether the lives of most people have improved. And the answer is of course a resounding, YES! Even our poorest citizens are better off than they were just a generation or two ago. America’s poor drive cars, have air conditioning, cellular phones, computers, flat-screen TVs, and judging by their waistlines haven’t missed meals in a very long time.
But the most offensive manipulation these people spout is the idea that a hardworking American will remain impoverished. Certainly there are circumstances that conspire to prevent some hardworking people from success, but one of the glories of American Exceptionalism is that hard work WILL result in success. For these conniving leeches to claim otherwise is a testament to their disgust for freedom and liberty, and their desire to control every aspect of our lives, even if that means restricting our ability to prosper.
And that is exactly what will happen if these dangerous socialists ever become powerful enough to enact their country-destroying ideas. Tax the wealthy more than they are already? Watch what happens. They will leave. They will withdraw from the capital markets, decreasing the available capital that is vital for economic growth. And who will be injured? Not the wealthy, who are almost always a few steps ahead of the tax collector. No, it is that hardworking man whose opportunity for success has been stymied by the lack of capital that drives economic growth.
One thing that has never made any sense at all: how does confiscatory taxation of the wealthiest people in society translate to improved outcomes for the poorest among us? The absolutely horrendous track record of LBJ’s Great Society is a 55 year set of data that show how useless government largesse is when the supposed goal is to pull people out of poverty.
Oh…that wasn’t the goal?
Buying votes for the Democrat party was the goal?
This is my shocked face!
