In response to our “It’s not a zero-sum America…” article, a reader commented by email that they’d be willing to bet “70% of Americans don’t know the House of Representatives originates tax bills.”
While not sure about the percentage, it’s possible many voters 1) don’t listen to news in that much detail, or 2) slept through Civics classes on the Constitution in school.
Either way, how is ignorance a legitimate excuse? And as BCP pointed out in response, it’s logic-defying for Democrats to say an ‘informed’ electorate gave them a tax-the-rich mandate…yet then contort into arguing that an uninformed electorate gave the House it’s ‘no higher taxes’ mandate.
‘Tax-the-rich’ is a paradox for Democrats – empirical govt data show revenues increase to state and federal coffers when tax rates go down. That’s why the only argument they can make (effectively, it would seem) is a class warfare ‘fairness’ mantra.
Paradoxically, if Dems let tax rates stay low and allowed revenues to pour in, they would have even more money to spend on their Solyndras and union cronies. But they need the ‘tax-the-rich’ class warfare to get elected, then are forced into doing just that.
Dem politicians real concern should be IF their constituents ever realize they’ve been played for fools with this tactic, since it’s the SAME politicians who – once elected – write laws that allow their (rich) corporate fat-cat buddies to dodge taxes and raise the cost of their products and services with (legal) deductions/loopholes…then the Dem voters actually end up paying those dodged taxes by way of higher costs & inflation.
So…a case could be made that – for the Dem politician to get elected – ‘ignorance (of the voter) is bliss’…
…but, for the Dem voter who elects them, then gets burned with hidden taxes and higher costs for products and services …
…’ignorance is… blistering’…