A taxing situation (In response to Andrew Hedlund’s April 21 column, “Tea Partiers uninformed, many untaxed.”)
As a crazy, somehow dangerous, unknowingly hateful right wing person who has attended multiple tea parties, I obviously take issue with Mr. Hedlund’s column. I understand that for a college newspaper it is fashionable to speak out against capitalism, small government and, more recently, the tea parties that support them, but let’s not confuse the facts on tax policy.
Yes, it is true that President Obama has offered programs, credits and cuts here and there, but he’s done so by overleveraging this country and by assessing new taxes on the wealthy and on businesses of every flavor.
Tea partiers understand that, when you borrow money, you eventually have to pay that money back, and you usually have to pay that back with some interest. We also understand that the money used to pay back those debts will come from taxes on everyone. (This understanding is also called Ricardian Equivalence).
Tea partiers further understand that taxes on businesses are immediately passed onto consumers, creating a “stealth tax” buried into the price of literally everything. This is a tax that disproportionally hits the poor, who can’t afford to have prices jacked up any higher than they already are.
Tea partiers also understand that the government can’t dodge this problem by hitting wealthy individuals either, who, after being taxed, have less money to invest in start up businesses, small cap stocks and donations to universities like this one.
Finally, while some are cheering at stock rallies, there are many among us who see that companies still aren’t hiring, still are cutting not just the fat, but in many cases the muscle of their organizations, and that revenues have increased only because of overseas contracts, and the fact that most consumers are scooping up more big deals than they are big ticket items.
Given all of this, it is either true that tea partiers have the magical ability to see what others can’t, or that Mr. Hedlund’s blinders are working extraordinarily well.
Corbin Smith Undergraduate
