Small minds generate big taxes

Gregg Bemis |

5/11/2008 - 5/11/08

There is probably no issue on which the voters are more consistent than their dislike of taxes. Whether federal, state, or local, given a choice, very few people seem to seriously prefer new or additional taxes. Of course it is understood that it is okay to raise taxes on everyone else but certainly not on "me." Whoever "me" happens to be.

This is also a classic place for class warfare, and one which the Democrats particularly enjoy. "Let's tax the rich" is their battle cry, an obviously populist appeal. The surprising fact is that "the rich" are already paying most of the taxes and it doesn't take long before the definition gets shaved to include more and more citizens, as is being discovered by the significantly increasing percentage being caught by the adjusted minimum tax regulations.

But the point I particularly want to make is that where the government is concerned, there are only two very distinct parts to economic activity, income and outgo. Income consists of tax revenues whether income tax, sales tax, or any of the dozens of otherwise named taxes, all of which essentially are government confiscation of earnings and property. It is estimated that while some individuals pay more and some less, overall in the United States, taxes add up to over
30 percent of total earnings per citizen.

Outgo, of course, ranges all the way from national defense, as required by the Constitution, to education and all the myriad of entitlements that soft-hearted and soft-headed politicians have created in order to induce voter support. Whether it is earmarks or programs, whether it is basic Social Security, Medicare, or the post office, these never shrinking, always expanding demands require constant feeding and replenishment.

Never, to my recollection, do the politicians ever say, if we want X we must give up Y. Never do you see these spenders of our resources sit down to prioritize program expenditures. Rarely are program expenditures given sunset provisions so they will either automatically expire or at least come up for a new vote which would mean a new evaluation and grading compared with other demands.

At one time Colorado had a lid on expenditures limiting total growth to a formula combining cost of living increases and population growth. It was so effective that two things happened:

u They had higher income than expected and returned unused taxes to their citizens.

u The politicians couldn't stand to see the fluff get away from them and revoked the law.

The root cause of the problem is twofold. One cause is that is takes no skill and less intelligence to spend money (other people's) than it does to analyze, budgetize, and then prioritize the many worthwhile propositions available. Of course, that is something we all have to do and are capable of on a personal basis. The other cause is that catering to one's voters' wishes (the more the better) is an excellent way to gain re-election. And that appears to be the principal objective of most politicians who consider themselves indispensable to their constituents.

At our state level, I understand we can probably anticipate at least a $50 million shortfall between planned revenues versus budgeted expenditures. Looks like the legislators will have to give the problem some serious prioritizing. Raising taxes will jeopardize their re-electability.

At the local level, there is a sad rumor that the real-estate transfer tax is going to rear its ugly head again. If the need for low-cost housing is the problem in need of a solution, before introducing another new, arbitrary and discriminating tax on a special class of citizens (those selling their homes), it is time to really examine the problem and determine how a supposedly community-wide problem can be resolved by a community-wide solution.

Going back to the headline, raising taxes is the product of small undisciplined minds. It is an abdication of the personal responsibility and professional duty of elected officials.

Santa Fean Gregg Bemis is an industrialist/adventurer and a concerned senior citizen.