One of the most enduring — yet misleading — arguments against tax relief for higher-income Americans is that “the rich” wouldn’t really mind having to pay more taxes.
Here is how a retired postal worker in Florida stated that in a recent article in The Associated Press: “Those millionaires wouldn’t even miss that money,” he said.
The trouble is, that misses the point.
It’s true that a wealthy person who has a successful business and earns, say, $2 million a year might not personally feel any deprivation if he suddenly had to pay a few thousand dollars more in taxes. He likely could still buy a nice new car or home if that’s what he desired.
But tax relief for people who already pay an excessive share of the taxes — and who are likely to generate jobs — isn’t about doing them a favor. It’s about the benefit to all of us when there is more money circulating in the free market for investment and job creation!