(A Populist Capitalist Blog Post)
Al Gore said it and I’m supporting it: “Tax what you burn, not what you earn.” While I’m far from a blanket Al supporter, this time we are simpatico.
Tax what you burn, not what you earn makes a LOT of sense.
When taking Economics 101 at the University of Florida, the professor took us through entry-level economic theory including how government can use economics to implement social policy. It was pretty basic, common sense stuff: subsidize what you want to encourage, tax what you want to discourage. I was young and naive then so I raised by hand and asked, “So why does the government discourage productivity (tax paychecks) and encourage idleness (dole out welfare)?”
I’ve always thought it makes more sense to tax consumption rather than productivity. It would make considerable sense to eliminate the income tax and replace it with a behavior-altering energy tax. My primary concern with advocating such a switch is that somehow in the process Washington would finesse it so that we would end up with both!
Closing Quotes
“It’s a good thing we don’t get all the government we pay for.” — Will Rogers
“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the government, forgetting that the government lives at the expense of everyone.” — Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850), French economist, author
“I love my country. It’s my government I fear.” — Bumper sticker