Oct 13
TaxProf reports that Hundreds of Economists Oppose Obama’s Tax plan.
His dividend and capital gains tax increases would reduce investment and cut into the savings of millions of Americans.
I know they scare me. I’ve spent the last decade building up another company. My retirement is pegged to its success. For Obama to treat capital gains like ordinary income will be devastating and an unfair pulling of the rug out from under me and the fellow entrepreneurs who sweated blood and long hours to make it succeed.
I doubt he cares. He just wants to give our hard work to folks who will vote for him.
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Would not a true Libertarian advocate government’s getting out of the way and minimizing intrusion in economic activity? That means treating all income alike without special tax rates for favored economic activities. If capital gains deserves a special class, so does every other special pleader. Sugar growers, home mortgage interest, export trade, green automobiles, an endless list that really helps employment and economic activity around the nation’s capital. Just have a look at the US Chamber of Commerce edifice across Lafayette Square from the White House.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:46 am
Sigh…. I don’t think sugar subsidies and stimulating generic investment across an entire population are similar.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
Neither do I, but once you open the cafeteria of using taxes to encourage desired behavior, you cannot avoid the politics that leads to favored treatment for the strongest political interests rather than the strongest national interests. David Stockman failed utterly in getting the Reagan Republicans to adopt his scheme of killing weak programs, not programs of weak political actors.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
It ain’t as complicated as you make out. Only when politicians start violating equal protection do we get to sugar subsidies.
Basic separation of taxes based on the duration of investment is common sense. A lower tax rewarding generic investment/savings is hardly a special interest.
I’d accept most anything that was truly equal. If everybody rides the same boat we can all decide together what to spend on. What I don’t like, and what is unfair, is 60% of the people ganging up on me to decide how to spend my money.