A friend and I got into a discussion recently about the idea of taxes. Me, being a liberal, argued that the rich should pay higher taxes because they already have more money than they'll ever need to survive, and those who barely have anything should at least have enough money to survive. But he made a very interesting counterargument that sparked some thought in me.
In his eyes, we are entitled to what we own. Yes, taxes are necessary to an extent, but does government have the right to take away what is rightfully ours? We have private property, and we have the right to own that property without government taking away what we were either born with, or possibly worked to own. In other words, his argument is that taxes should not be based on social class, because it does not promote individual movement and private property, two rights and ideologies very imbedded into American culture. What do you think?
In my personal opinion, I disagree. Though the idea of everyone owning everything they've worked for is ideal, but unfortunately so is the idea of equality among communism. There needs to be balance. I believe people have the right to be rich and lead glamorous lives, but they should not own enough to lead two or three lives. To me, slightly higher taxes for higher income families is not a punishment of any kind. It is simply logical for those with more money to have to sacrifice for the greater good of the country. That money goes to things like infrastructure, which paves our roads and keeps our country up to check, and unemployment, which keeps those looking for work up and about so when that employer needs workers they are able to have a career with them. So not only do their higher taxes help those in dire need of help, but it helps those in the upper classes as well.
But now I turn the question to you. What is your opinion on America's current economic state? In general, how do you think money should be divided? Leave your responses in the comments below.
