Penalized for Success

First, it was bad enough that they taxed us to begin with. But now, right as I, and so many of us stand on the verge of success, I find out that the Democrats want to penalize us further for that success. And in exchange, they wish to redistribute that tax money to people they deem "under-privileged".

Think about it, as a person, would you rather make $149,000.00 or $$150,000.00? Would you rather make $20,000.00 or $500,000.00? I know it seems like common sense, that you would prefer to make more money, right? But what if the cost went up from 15% to 30%? See, right now, I am in an income bracket whereby the government takes about 15 cents of every dollar I earn before I ever see that dollar. The more money I make, the more I pay in taxes on this graduated system. Now you might think that this system is fair, but what if I told you that under if the current system, you already get penalized for success? See, for those of you who are on that bubble of making $150k, but have not crossed that line, it makes more sense to make $149k because if you cross that magic line to $150k, you will pay an additional 4% surcharge for being successful! So at the end of the day, the person with $149k has more money in his pocket than the guy who makes $150k. Which, in that range of cash flow, is at least $5k more.

But it gets worse, under the new plan that is being proposed, greater subsidies go to those who cannot rise to the challenge of being an American and carving their own path to success. Your charitable donations at work in the form of taxes. So income gets redistributed.

Now you might be of the opinion that people who make more should pay more because they can afford it. But look at things this way: if you, as a 4.0 student were told that you would have to get a 3.0 gpa for your 4.0 work because some kids might not make it into college without some of the A's you made, wouldn't you think that it was unfair? That is exactly what the current tax system does to achievers. The new system would turn your 4.0 into a 2.5. Ouch! But you are 4.0 student, you can afford to lose a few points because you are smarter or work harder than the rest and can make it up again. Don't worry, it is for the greater good. Now think, those grades are not grades, but rather, your money. Does it feel good again?

It should pay to be successful. You shouldn't have to pay with your soul for that success. The fact is that you have already paid. And you sure as hell shouldn't have to be forced to make charitable donations with every dollar you make. Failure should be painful, not success.

But if you want fairness, maybe we should all go to the Fair Tax. It doesn't penalize us for success or failure.