Liberals don’t seem to want to be called “Liberals” and Leftists don’t ever want to be known as “Leftists”. Socialists and Communists never seem to want to be called what they are either. “Progressive” is the term they all seem to prefer, in America at least.
That sounds good, doesn’t it? It evokes “The Carousel of Progress” at Disney; everything always getting better and better. Who could be against Progress?
But there is another side to the story. When you are “progressing” in your car, that’s generally a good thing. Cars are meant to move you from point A to point B. When you go out to go to work and your car won’t start that’s not good. However, when your car is “progressing” toward at cliff or a brick wall at 80 miles an hour, that’s not so good either.
One of the objections to any change in the Federal tax code, from Steve Forbes’ Flat Tax to Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is that they are “Regressive”, which is the opposite of “Progressive”. When it comes to taxes, shifting more and more of the tax burden away from the lower income people and onto the upper income people is considered “Progressive”, but a tax system where everyone pays the same percentage of their income is considered moving backward — “Regressive”.
But currently, the bottom 50% of wage earners pays no income tax, and the top 5% pays more in income taxes than the other 95% (link). It’s hard to see how that can be good for the economy, much less “Progress”. But, the “Progressives” say, “the rich” can afford it, which of course is just an echo of the Marxist “From each according to his ability. To each according to his need.”
We’ve been “progressing” from the flat 3% with no deductions when the income tax was instituted almost 100 years ago (America survived for 135 years without an income tax) until now the tax burden is so lopsided that it’s difficult to see how anyone can regard it as fair. As depicted in “Atlas Shrugged”, there may come a time when the “rich” will decide it’s not worth it any more and simply quit.
This is not a good time for that to happen. President Obama and the Democrat majority in Congress from 2006 to 2010 has doubled the national debt. Every man, woman and child in America is responsible for $80,000 worth, but only the “rich” are expected to pay.
Sometimes forward progress isn’t good at all. If forward progress was always good, cars wouldn’t need brakes or reverse gears.
