The libertarian-conservative Republican commentator in California goes into the liberal mindset: "Investor's Business Daily says raising taxes on the top 2 percent
figures to bring in annually about $34 billion. Others put the number at
twice that. Either way, it is a tiny fraction of the $1.1 trillion
annual deficit. And an Ernst & Young study says this would cost
700,000 jobs. So raising taxes on the rich a) brings in a small amount
of money and b) reduces, not increases, economic activity."
More from Mr. Elder: "Why increase taxes on the rich at all? Answer: It's a matter of 'fairness.' Andy Stern, the former head of the Service Employees International
Union, the fastest-growing American union, describes the economic
philosophy of the left: If raising taxes on 'the rich' hurts the
economy, that is an acceptable price. 'Western Europe,' says Stern, 'as
much as we used to make fun of it, has made different trade-offs which
may have ended with a little more unemployment but a lot more equality.' Any questions?"
Larry Elder: "So What If Taxing The Rich Even More Hurts The American Economy?"
