Nov
11
High Taxes Matter
Filed Under American Politics
Thankyou to Rhoda for providing the link on this one.
William Voegeli, who wrote a piece I wrote about here has focused again on the negative impact of high taxes to states. In the first article, he showed that very little benefits high tax states aside from paying for the cost of employing public servants, who unlike the taxpayer, get to benefit very nicely out of a high tax regime. But in this article, he goes on to show how well defined the differences between low tax and high tax economies are (along with their political implications).
America’s federal system allows, at the state level, for 50 different clubs to join. At first glance, the states seem to differ between those that bundle numerous high-quality public benefits with high taxes and those that offer packages of low benefits and low taxes. These alternatives, of course, define the basic argument between liberals and conservatives over the ideal size and scope of government. Except for Oregon, John McCain carried every one of the 17 states with the lowest tax levels in the 2008 presidential election, while Barack Obama won every one of the 17 at the top of the list except for Wyoming and Alaska.
Besides Mississippi, every one of the 17 states with the lowest state and local tax levels had positive net internal migration from 2000 to 2007. Except for Wyoming, Maine, and Delaware, every one of the 17 highest-tax states had negative net internal migration over the same period.
So much for that permanent Democratic majority. People like low tax, low spending, low regulatory environments. Or to put it another way, people like freedom.
And if you want to escape a depression; stop spending the taxpayers money!
Summarizing the findings of a report they wrote for the American Legislative Exchange Council, Laffer and Moore pointed out that between 1998 and 2007, the states without an individual income tax “created 89 percent more jobs and had 32 percent faster personal income growth” than the states with the highest individual income-tax rates. California’s tax and regulatory policies, the report predicts, “will continue to sap its economic vitality,” while Texas’s “pro-growth” policies will help it “maintain its superior economic performance well into the future.” The clear implication is that California should become more like Texas.
Unfortunately I don’t have time to do this justice today, but both this article and the one my original post referenced (here) make for interesting reading as part of the high tax, high benefit vs the low tax, low benefit economies.
Thoughts?
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10 Responses to “High Taxes Matter”
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cash-strapped california has apparently resorted to confiscation of money to fund their liberal paradise.
as i understand it, californians will now have an extra 10% deducted from their paychecks even though there has been no new tax imposed by the legislature.
of course this is only a loan. people can recoup their money when they file their 2009 tax return. presumably the refund will come in the form of an iou as the california government has been wont to do recently. of course these iou’s are presently nearly worthless.
ahhhh. liberal utopia, nothing like it.
Shockwaver…crumbs I am shattered to read that! What happens to people that are just making ends meet? If 10% of my pay disappeared I would have to declare bankruptcy….will they compensate those they drive to destruction?
ot
no. but lots of people who now live from paycheck to paycheck will be seriously hurt. however, i am sure the government will “feel their pain”
O. Tony,
This is just the beginning…if a state can ’steal’ 10% from Californian’s monthly paychecks….and get away with it…what do you think Obama and his hoods are capable of?
I believe we are on the cusp of a true revolution….and the working middle class will lead it.
AA..so lovely to see you back here! I just cannot believe that the state gov. can just lop off pay from peoples pay packets, that is downright sinister if nothing else.
Yes AA, I think a back-lash is due soon.
I would have thought that anyone concerned about this could just call up HR and alter their withholding. It is not as if companies verify any of the information provided by employees as to what the correct withholding should be.
I suspect those worried about this would also be the first to complain were either California or the Feds to audit more people.
I believe we are on the cusp of a true revolution….and the working middle class will lead it.
Ah, yes, the middle class which fared so well under a Bush Administration that failed to increase median family income during eight years of office. Anyone familiar with the statistics know that the primary task of a Democratic Administration is to clean up the fiscal mess created by the preceding Republican Administrations.
ndm…”Anyone familiar with the statistics know that the primary task of a Democratic Administration is to clean up the fiscal mess created by the preceding Republican Administrations.”
Who will clean up bankrupt America after cap and trade and 1.7 trillion in healthcare debt then? The chinese?
An American:
I can’t wait. I’m sure that Orly Taitz will be leading the charge.
morgan
i don’t know about orly. but if it happens, it will only be reported by fox. the other outlets will say they can’t draw any conclusions until a study is done as they do with other stories that don’t fit their agenda.