Stupid Is As Stupid Does

47 states are set to raise taxes on their citizens. So, let me see if I understand this...

Joe Blow is hurting because of the recession, so he is spending less. This means the state gets less in sales taxes. So, to offset this, the state, in its utter stupidity and arrogance, increases the taxes, thinking that will somehow increase revenue.

But the increased taxes, on an already hurting Joe Blow, only means Joe can afford even less than before. He is forced by higher prices to buy LESS, resulting in even LESS tax revenue for the state.

Throughout American history, EVERY time taxes have been raised, the economy suffered. And EVERY time taxes were cut, the economy boomed. Our elected leaders, however, out of sheer arrogance and ignorance choose to ignore history.

Look, it isn't rocket science. The more money the PEOPLE have, the more they can SPEND. The more they spend, the more tax revenue the state gets without raising the tax rate. In fact, if the CUT the tax rate, this gives the people even MORE money to spend, resulting in even GREATER tax revenues.

In a nutshell: what makes more sense - collecting 5% of $100 or collecting 100% of $5? While it may appear to be the same result, it is not. In the former instance, $95 is still in the economy, being passed along. In the latter case, the entire amount is taken as tax, and nothing is left to keep the economy afloat or to be passed along.

I'll say this just once - the People (and particularly businesses) are the Golden Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It is their effort and investment that creates the income from which the government gets its tax revenue.

Now, the government has a choice - take CARE of the Golden Goose, and keep getting those eggs, or STRANGLE the goose with higher taxes and regulation, thereby reducing the egg output - and maybe even stopping it altogether if they kill the goose - or it runs away, the way businesses leave the US for more favorable tax treatment in India and China, taking the jobs with them. We keep griping how businesses keep taking jobs out of America by out-sourcing, but we adamantly refuse to force our elected officials to stop running those businesses out by their insistence to punish them with ever increasing taxes. Businesses are no different from you and I. They will go where they are welcomed, and treated fairly. They will move away from any place that punishes them, or treats them unfairly. Get it? Your Senators and representatives certainly do NOT get it.

It is time we told our senators and representatives that they need to start adhering to simple common sense when it comes to finances and taxation, and to keep taxes low, for the benefit of all. Because as sure as God made little green apples, higher taxes will lower our standard of living, and strangle the very thing that creates the wealth in the first place.

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