October 12, 2012

The Effect of Fairness on Tax Revenues

By W.A. Beatty
Vice President Joe Biden, speaking in Iowa on October 4, 2012, said: On top of the trillions of dollars of spending that we have already cut, we're gonna ask - yes - we're gonna ask the wealthy to pay more.  My heart breaks, come on man.  You know the phrase they always use?  Obama and Biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars.  Guess what?  Yes we do in one regard.  We want to let that trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that money going to the super wealthy.  That's not a tax raise, that's called fairness where I come from. So, now we have it officially: if Obama and Biden are re-elected, they are going to raise taxes by letting "that trillion dollar tax cut expire."  The comment by Biden raises two questions.  First, what is "fairness"?  Second, how will a tax increase affect the economy? Regarding "fairness," I can find no source where the term is specifically...(Read Full Article)