(Akiit.com) Those who back the notion that Elizabeth Warren‘s wealth tax is a great idea have given it little to no thought.
The Warren wealth tax is tailor-made to cater to the angry “income inequality” crowd on the left, because when people think of a wealth tax they think of a tax only on the wealthy – a “soak the rich” tax.
Warren’s wealth tax can also be thought of as a veiled property tax.
When most think of property tax, they think only of their house and land they own. Yet property is quite literally everything you own – your house, car, jewelry, precious metals, investments, money in the bank, retirement – pretty much all your belongings, both tangible and intangible. And all that property will be subject to a punitive tax.
But fear not, the leftists say, for the wealth tax will only affect those worth more than $50 million, and even then the tax will only be 2% of net worth. Heck, they won’t even miss it – right?
However, as Bobby Jindal recently said on Fox Business – we should all fear what will come if such a wealth tax ever found its way into law. Jindal said that the federal government’s appetite for spending is so great, “they can’t just tax the millionaires and billionaires – they’re going to tax everyday working people.”
But is this “soak the rich” tax idea something new?
Hardly. It’s just a reintroduction of another old progressive idea from over a century ago.
It was, in fact, the same slogan used to institute the income tax, proving once again that there is nothing new under the sun. It’s the same strategy with a new coat of paint.
Today, it seems many believe we have a lock on new, “hip” terminology, redefining terms, for example, like “woke.”
Yet all the way back in the late 1890s, the word “soak” was redefined.
The term had emerged in the U.S. accompanied by the introduction of a new meaning: “to impose upon by an extortionate charge or price.”
The progressives, like President Woodrow Wilson, adopted this new meaning so that the income tax appeared to be a tax only on the wealthy – a way to “soak the rich.” Sound familiar?
The income tax, first introduced in 1913, started out targeting only the wealthy, ranging between a 1% and 7% tax, depending on one’s income. But just like everything else progressives devise, once the framework becomes law, it’s relatively easy to just add to it, and jack up the rates.
And since most people aren’t wealthy, very few have a problem with the saying, “soak the rich.” The thought is, I’m not wealthy, so it won’t affect me. It will just punish those evil rich folks.
Yet just as the income tax proved insufficient to fund the burgeoning new progressive government, the wealth tax in its initial form also will be not be enough. Fact is, there’s not enough money on planet Earth to fund all the Democratic candidate’s schemes.
And what seems to be getting lost is another inescapable fact. Ironically, all those promoting this new wealth tax are themselves vastly wealthy. Elizabeth Warren alone has an estimated wealth of around $12 million.
I wonder how many less fortune has she shared her wealth with?
Columnist; Brent Smith
Official website; http://commonconstitutionalist.com/