So, I had one of thee most ridiculous conversations with a lady in the checkout line today. She was complaining about Washington state taxes and how she felt we should move to a state income tax. I said that I disagreed, I liked the current tax model be cause everyone gets taxed, and as a percentage, its equal to everyone.
This lady looked at me, completely earnest, and said that that wasn't fair, the rich should be taxed more than anyone else.
As I said, this is ridiculous, and I feel like discussing why. First, let's discuss the English usage of fair. As a word, fair has many subtle and nuanced meanings, but as a general concept, we who speak English accept that when something is fair, that it is also equal. As it pertains to this story, fair would imply equal treatment of all parties involved. So, this lady is, in essence, saying that the only way to fairly treat the rich is to unfairly tax them. See the problem?
Now, as my second point, I'd like to bring up something my wife pointed out. Who is to judge what's fair and what's not? What if the wealthy person you're taxing is a philanthropist, and would willing donate to good causes?
This whole issue is ridiculous, and persecuting the wealthy, or anyone else, is not a solution, its a problem.
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