Declaration of Independence

Ever since Ronald Reagan was president we have heard our friends on the left berate “trickle down economics.”  The idea that a tax break applied uniformly to all taxpayers, was somehow unfair because the dollars saved at the lower income levels were dwarfed by the savings at the upper levels.  They always point to the glass being half empty rather than half full, meaning that they will never talk about how much these same individuals still pay in taxes, after the tax cut.  Barack Obama said in the debates that John McCain wanted to give wealthy individuals a tax break of $700,000.  What he doesn’t say is how much that individual still pays after the break.  If they are saving $700,000 they are probably still paying several million in taxes.

Our country was founded with these words from the Declaration of Independence:

“WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed…”

Let’s parse these words in the context of Senator Obama’s tax policies.

All men are created equal .  A tax cut of a constant percentage applied to all taxpayers would treat them equally, providing a benefit proportional to the size of their tax bill.  If their tax bill is $1,000, a 10% tax cut would give them $100.  If their tax bill is $7 million, a 10% tax cut would yield $700,000, which is an enormous difference.  But, the amount of taxes the former would end up paying is $900 and the latter is $6.3 million.  Do you think they would want to swap tax bills under the guise of fairness?  Senator Obama’s unequal plan is to raise taxes at the top and cut them at the bottom.

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” – it’s the Pursuit of Happiness, not Happiness.  It is not government’s role to make you happy.  Government’s role is to allow you to live your life, free from arbitrary or despotic control (Liberty), and free to pursue your happiness, whatever that means to you.  In your pursuit we’ll all be pulling for you, but it is not the collective responsibility of your fellow citizens to deliver it to you on a tasseled pillow.

“Deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed” — this points to accountability and it should be the guiding principle behind any program or proposal.  Since the President of the United States is the only office put to a vote of all Americans, the president should ask him/herself, does this program or proposal benefit all of my constituents (i.e., all Americans; the Consent of the Governed)?  If asked, would they consent?  From time to time tough, unpopular decisions will have to be made, but they should be made in the spirit that it benefits the country as a whole.  I believe such consent would be granted on the question, do we need the Armed Forces?  Providing for the national defense is a fundamental Federal responsibility.  Could the same be said of a bridge to nowhere?  How about most tax loopholes?

In Senator Obama’s, now famous, encounter with Joe the Plumber he told Joe, “My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

So, it’s mean, stupid, evil, and unfair to free up a lot of capital, the lifeblood of the economy, at the top.  But it is a jolly good idea to give relatively small amounts to individuals where it will probably be consumed rather than invested and that the benefits will trickle up to everyone else?

It is contrary to the Declaration of Independence to spread the wealth around, by taking from one individual to give to another.  It was Karl Marx who said, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!”  From Joe the Plumber according to his ability, to someone else according to his needs!

Private giving to help one’s fellow man is perhaps the most noble and honorable thing a person can do.  What is wrong is using government force to steal from one group to give to another.