How can you be pro-American and anti-American-Government? Along with philanthropy, arts, business, family values, and the media, government promotes the public good. We should pay taxes cheerfully in a spirit of civic pride. The wealthiest should welcome higher taxes upon themselves as their way of promoting what has made this country great, and themselves rich. For more see wealth for the common good. If you are good and rich, please sign their petition to have your taxes raised.
The wealthiest should welcome higher taxes upon themselves as their way of promoting what has made this country great, and themselves rich.
I have been surprised for a long time (and remain so) that this perspective seems foreign, strange or undesirable by so many who enjoy the benefits of living in a society that has been good to them or profitable for them.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, one need only look at the relatively prosperous and well-function European social democracies. There MUST be a reason why Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, Stockholm, Oslo, Dusseldorf, Munich etc. always rank in the top 10 or top 20 cities in the world in which to live according to "quality of life" surveys.
Then there's places like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal (all 3 usually in the top 20). Contrary to what most Americans believe, Canada is not a social democracy nor even remotely socialist (except for, maybe, single-payer health care coverage for all) but as a vast generality most Canadians understand why we pay taxes and what we get from paying same.
Posted by: Jon Husband | June 17, 2009 at 02:40 PM
What's currently unfolding in California is quite instructive as an emergent case study re: taxes and societal infrastructure, no ?
Posted by: Jon Husband | June 17, 2009 at 02:45 PM
The people behind this Wealth for the Common Good are in Tracy Gary's network, at least I connected with them through her: Liberal, educated, inheritors with a social conscience.
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | June 17, 2009 at 02:50 PM