Political Pontification

I think this is the first time I've engaged in any thoughtful political commentary on this blog that wasn't fueled by a temporarily bitter emotional state. It seems Mr. Obama is attempting to preserve tax relief for "middle class" taxpayers, and in classic Democrat fashion, he plans to stick it to people who earn more than a certain amount—probably $200-$250K.

I've bitched and moaned repeatedly on this blog about rich people and income disparity. I'm constantly in a battle between emotion and rationale on the issue of the obligations of high earners to society. My emotions say $150,000 a year is enough for any one person to live a very comfortable lifestyle, and anyone seeking more than that is a greedy bastard. A company's profits should be distributed among employees who earn less than the $150K maximum, instead of being doled out as bonuses to those who already earn enough. Rationale and logic, however, hold that without the freedom to pursue as much income as possible, businesses wouldn't expand and we'd have worse unemployment problems. No one is going to bust his ass, take risks, and hire more people to build and expand a business if he can't earn more than $150,000 a year.

So, neither the presence nor absence of salary caps is good for society. What's to be done to make things fair for everyone?

My answer: replace the income tax with a national sales tax plus surtaxes on imported goods, as well as stiff taxes on employers who outsource services to foreign countries.

The national sales tax would consist of a few levels of tax rates based on the necessity of the good or service being taxed. For example, groceries, clothing priced less than $100 per item, cars priced less than $30,000, and medical services would be taxed at a lower rate than other not-so-necessary purchases, which would be taxed at a middle rate. A higher rate would be imposed on luxury goods such as expensive cars and jewelry, as well as alcohol, recreational drugs, and tobacco.

That's right, I said recreational drugs. While we're fixing the tax system, let's also do away with the pointless "war on drugs," which has done nothing but waste tax dollars and get people killed. Recreational drugs with little or no medicinal purpose would be taxed, regulated, and restricted to people over 18 years of age.

Imported goods for which there exists a sufficient range of American-made substitutes would be subjected to a surtax, and not just at the consumer level. American manufacturers would pay taxes on components imported from overseas.

Under the structured national sales tax, an individual's tax burden would be based on what he chooses to consume, not what he earns. A high earner could choose to pay thousands more on an $80,000 Mercedes, or he could choose to buy a modest Ford and pay less taxes.

But how would the government support itself, you might ask? We'd have to scale back government, duh! Ending the "war on drugs" would certainly save some serious cash, and taxes on recreational drugs would help fill the coffers. So would shutting down the I.R.S., since we'd no longer have an income tax. While we're at it, the U.S. Department of Education should be done away with, since education should be managed at the state level.