Notes from the Left Coast

Drummond Pike’s Blog

Have you ever wondered why the only thing we ever hear about is tax relief? When was the last time you can remember anyone advocating tax increases? Such is the stuff of political suicide in our “borrow now, pay later” politics. Remember Bush 1 and his famous “read my lips” statement?

So, I’ve been curious about how we got here for a long time. The fact of the matter is that we are living on borrowed time, if history is any measure. A fascinating chart on TruthandPolitics.org’s site shows the variation in our “maximum effective” tax rates for upper income taxpayers. During the two World Wars, people paid some serious taxes (77% and then 94% respectively). During Vietnam, the rate moved back up to the 77% level after having fallen steadily through the 50’s and early 60’s. Where are we now? 35%, at least until Bush 2’s tax cuts are termed out in 2010. And what do we have cooking? The most expensive war since Vietnam and a pending debate on national health insurance for all.

If the federal government was a business, it would have been abandoned in the free market ages ago as a failed enterprise.

An interesting comparison can be made to countries that have national health coverage: Canada – mid-40% (federal and province); Australia – 45%; New Zealand – 46%; and Austria – 50% (as are many European countries). Oh, and they have only a fraction of the military costs that we do.

So….when is one of these candidates running for President going to break the taboo, and return us to Kansas (from this Oz-like place we’ve been living in for the past 3 decades)?