Redistribution of Wealth

[clayfoushee]

Let's talk about the "redistribution of wealth" issue that McCain campaign has thrown out there to arouse his base, and that Gov. Palin is having fun calling "socialism."

What we're actually talking about here is the "progressive tax system" that has been a feature of US policy for almost 150 years. Long before there was anything known as "socialism," "marxism," or "communism;" President Abraham Lincoln imposed a "war tax" in which richer people paid more than poorer people. That was "redistribution of wealth." That tax was later repealed after the war.

That great lion of the "conservative republicanism," President Theodore Roosevelt, pushed hard for the drafting and advocated the enactment of the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution which created a permanent income tax and implemented the "progressive tax system," where the wealthier paid more. The 16th Amendment institutionalized the policy of "redistribution of wealth" in the US. It reached the 2/3rd of states ratification threshold after TR left office. The concept of "socialism" hadn't caught on yet, so no one called it that.

Corporate income taxes are a "redistribution of wealth."

President Ronald Reagan in 1986 signed legislation that greatly expanded the "earned income credit" (EIC) program which allowed lower income individuals to receive tax credits, which is "redistribution of wealth."

D and R-controlled Administrations and Congresses have been "redistributing wealth" in this country for a long, long time. I must admit to being rather confused by the McCain campaign's tactic here, except that they are calculating that it might resonate with the terribly uniformed.

Apparently, it does with many here . . .