I’ve sometimes asserted, only half-jokingly, that statists believe all of our income belongs to the government and that we should be grateful if we’re allowed to keep any slice of what we earn.
This is, at least in part, the mentality behind the “tax expenditure” concept, which creates a false equivalence between spending programs and provisions of the tax code that allow people to keep greater amounts of their own income.
Here’s how I characterized this moral blindness when criticizing a Washington Post columnist back in 2013.
Hiatt presumably thinks that the government’s decision not to impose double taxation is somehow akin to a giveaway. But that only makes sense if you assume that government has a preemptive claim to all private income. …Hiatt wants us the think that there’s no moral, ethical, or economic difference between giving person A $5,000 of other people’s money and person B being allowed to keep $5,000 of his or her own money.
Today, I have a particularly absurd real-world illustration of this statist mindset.
Two writers for the Wonkblog section of the Washington Post recently wrote an article entitled, “The rich get government handouts just like the poor. Here are 10 of them.”
Did their list of 10 “handouts” include the Export-Import Bank, which lines the pockets of big corporations? Nope.
Did it include agriculture subsidies, which provide unearned goodies for big agribusiness firms? Nope.
Did it the TARP bailout, which shielded Wall Street fatcats from capitalism? Nope.
And how about subsidized terrorism insurance, ethanol goodies, and green energy subsidies? Nope, nope, and nope.
Or the handouts in Obamacare for major pharmaceutical companies and big insurance companies? Nope and nope.
Instead, every single “handout” that the rich “get” from government is nothing more than a provision of the tax code that lets people keep more of their own money.
I’m not joking. Here’s the list, followed by my two cents.
1. The mortgage interest deduction for big houses and second homes.
As I’ve previously explained, I don’t think the tax code should be tilted in favor of residential real estate. But a handout is when the government takes money from Person A and gives it to Person B.
2. The yacht tax deduction.
There actually isn’t a yacht tax deduction, but if you can live in something, it can be eligible for a mortgage interest deduction. I don’t think that’s wise tax policy, but it’s not an example of government taking from Person A and giving to Person B.
3. Rental property.
The authors appear to be upset that people running a business get to subtract costs from gross income when calculating net income. But that’s exactly how businesses are supposed to be taxed. And even if one thought, for some odd reason, that gross income was the right tax base, this still isn’t an example of government taking from Person A to give to Person B.
4. Fancy business meals.
As just noted, businesses should be taxed on profits rather than gross receipts. Well, profits are the difference between total income and total costs, including the cost of business-related meals. And even if one thinks that folks in business are lying and mischaracterizing personal meals, they’re not spending other people’s money. No funds are being taken from Person A and being given to Person B.
5. The capital gains tax rate.
In a good tax system, there’s no double taxation of income that is saved and invested, so the capital gains tax should be abolished. As such, the “preferential” rate in the current system is more accurately characterized as a mitigation of a penalty. But even if one believes that saving and investment should be double taxed, a lower capital gains tax rate doesn’t take money from Person A to give to Person B.
6. The estate tax.
The death tax is triple taxation, so it also should be abolished. Regardless, letting a family hold onto its own money is not the same as taking from Person A to give to Person B.
7. Gambling loss deductions.
The government taxes gamblers on their net winnings (if any), which is the proper approach. And even if the government gave a deduction for net losses (which isn’t the case), this wouldn’t be an example of taking from Person A and giving to Person B.
8. The Social Security earnings limit.
The Social Security system is supposed to be social insurance, and one of the implications of this approach is that there’s a limit on the benefits one can receive and the payments one has to make. As such, it’s silly to assert that the “wage base cap” is somehow improper. But even if one believed in turning Social Security into a pure redistribution scheme, the existing earnings limit simply means a cap on what the government takes. There’s no coerced handout from Person A to Person B.
9. Retirement plans.
The bad news is that we have pervasive double taxation in the internal revenue code. The good news is that some forms of retirement savings, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, are protected from double taxation. That protection does not require any money being taken from Person A and given to Person B.
10. Tax prep.
I’m not a fan of companies like H&R Block that benefit from an unfair and convoluted tax code. Under a simple and fair system like the flat tax, they would go out of business. But a deduction for tax preparation costs simply allows a taxpayer to keep more of his or her income. There’s no handout from Person A to Person B.
In case you didn’t notice, there’s a strong moral component to my argument. The leftists think you’re getting a handout if you get to keep more of your own money.
And it’s also economically illiterate when applied to provisions of the tax code that make sense, such as companies getting to subtract expenses when calculating taxable income.
Or individuals not being subjected to double taxation.
P.S. Here’s some pro-Second Amendment humor, which cleverly uses the left’s “undocumented” terminology for illegal aliens and applies it in a much better fashion.
And if you like pro-gun humor, you can find lots of good links by clicking here.
P.P.S. Since I mentioned immigration, here’s a fascinating graphic that shows immigration trends over the past two centuries.
There’s no policy lesson of philosophical point. I just think this graphic is very informative and well designed.
But if you want my two cents, I like immigration but want to make sure we attract people who want to work and assimilate rather than scroungers (and worse) who want welfare and handouts.
[…] P.P.S. Plenty of folks on the left explicitly argue that government has first claim on income. And that you’re the beneficiary of a favor if you get to keep some of what you earn. Once again, I’m not joking. […]
[…] What’s especially shocking is when statists twist language, such as when they claim all income is the “rightful property” of government and that people who are allowed to keep any of their earnings are getting “government handouts.” […]
[…] Though none of this satisfies the statists. They actually would like us to think that letting well-to-do taxpayers keep any of their money is akin to a handout. […]
[…] Though none of this satisfies the statists. They actually would like us to think that letting well-to-do taxpayers keep any of their money is akin to a handout. […]
[…] Though none of this satisfies the statists. They actually would like us to think that letting well-to-do taxpayers keep any of their money is akin to a handout. […]
[…] starting with the European Commission’s galling decision to use anti-trust laws to justify the bizarre assertion that low taxes are akin to a business […]
[…] with the European Commission’s galling decision to use anti-trust laws to justify the bizarre assertion that low taxes are akin to a business […]
Taxpayers who get to keep their income are getting handouts-bullshit! The fact is that is their money in the first place. Liberals are parasites.
[…] though I agree with his analysis, I get agitated when tax preferences are referred to as […]
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Reblogged this on Public Secrets and commented:
The difference between a conservative and a progressive: the conservative believes the money you earn is yours, and the government should take only the minimum it needs to perform necessary tasks. The progressive believes the money is yours, but government knows best how it should be used and how much you really need.
The National Women’s Law Center’s post on Facebook called the House vote to repeal the estate tax a “giveaway” to “super-rich families”. Reply comments were just as bad; one person claiming this vote means we now live in an oligarchy.
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This type of thinking is completely beyond my comprehension.
[…] P.S. Here’s some pro-Second Amendment humor, which cleverly uses the left’s “undocumented” WAIT, THERE’S MORE… […]
[…] Reposted from International Liberty. […]
Thou shall not steal. No exemption for majority vote. We have become a nation of thieves. And we wonder why our economy and society are in such a struggle. This cannot end well. Christians who make a big fuss about abortion and homosexuality are silent on this mass theft. Because they are in on this one, receivers of stolen goods.
I came for the orange & white cat and stayed for the lesson. One of your best yet. Statist reasoning leads inevitably to a base of 100% taxation with return of ‘welfare’ payments to all. I’m far from completely on board with Ayn Rand but images from Atlas Shrugged do come to mind when watching financial news.
[…] By Dan Mitchell […]