TAX THE RICH

Mark this day, you'll probably never hear me say this again. I think we should raise the taxes on the rich. No, I'm not part of the overwhelming masses that think that taking from other people is the answer to all their problems. I find that to be the defining trait of Liberals, and I'm not one. It's just that I can't seem to grasp their philosophy; these people have lots of money, I do not, so they should give it to me. Hell, if you want to take that route why not justify robbing people if they have more than you. Keep doing that until you have more than most people and then we'll rob you. The perfect system.

I respect people who go out there and make their way towards wealth through hard work. I do not buy into the lie that most people inherit their wealth. I even admire people like Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh. They don't lie about who they are or what they stand for and they've managed to pull themselves up to the top of their field from nowhere. They have every right in my eyes to enjoy the fruits of their labor, no matter how much I disagree with what they say or what they're doing. What I don't believe in, is rewarding people who do nothing to help themselves by giving them the money of the hard working and talented. Period.

With that out of the way, let me explain why I have a change of heart on taxing the wealthy.

There is a gap in our health care system that I find unacceptable. It exists for people who go to work everyday and are making an effort to get ahead without relying on the Government. With all the people in this country who have health care, including people too lazy to work, the drug and alcohol addicted, and those who are faking injuries so they can get on SSI, it is an absolute travesty that the one group of people that we are not taking care of is those that work menial jobs that pay near minimum wage and don't qualify for government assistance. Now, I could act Republican and say that the answer is to stop giving assistance to all the aforementioned leeches on the leg of society, but I really feel that their punishment is knowing they will never advance beyond where they are now. A better and more humane answer would be to help the people who are helping themselves to have a life that is better than their lazy-assed counterparts. Think about it for a second. People who do nothing to contribute to society get their health and the health of their children taken better care of than those who work the 9 to 5. In a country as rich as the United States it is shameful to say the least.

I have given considerable thought as to how to cure the health care crisis in this country and I have to say it is a bear of a problem. It's the killing off of the enormous health care industry that causes most of the problems with creating a universal coverage of the type that most socialist countries have. Look around the place that you work. Even in a small business that supplies health care for it's employees, you have at least one if not two people who spend most of their days going through the paperwork involved in health care. For larger companies it's even more people, and in any doctor' office there may be three or four, and that's not even including all the people who work for the providers themselves. It is a massive industry on par with the automotive industry. To give all those people walking papers at once would send a huge ripple through the economy.

Now, the way I look at it, it is rich investors who would suffer the most from having that kind of a system forced on them. (Although the regular 401k investors would also be hurt on their retirement.) Since it is them that gains the most by leaving the system the way it is, it is fair to say it should be them that fixes the hole in the coverage so the system works. Think of it this way. They pump money into the health care system by paying for the coverage of people who are working to get ahead and the health care companies get bigger returns thereby helping to float the market which returns some of the money back into their pockets.

So how would we do it? I like an idea being floated by Ben Stein (Yes, of "Win Ben Stein's Money") On Bill Reilly's "The Factor" program, Ben suggested a new tax bracket for people who earn more than 5 million a year. 36%, a jump of approx. 3% for the over 1.5 million Americans who file that much currently. That money would then be earmarked specifically for health care for working Americans that could not otherwise afford it. It's not just that they can afford it and it's not just that they would be the ones to suffer the most if we changed our system. It's also that they are the people who could best monitor it and try to keep people off it. Since the very rich control this country in one way or another, if they were taxed for every individual who does not have health care, there would be more motivation for them to find innovative ways for companies to supply coverage thereby lessening their personal tax burden.

You know, when I first heard Ben suggest this, I was against it. But after listening to his reasoning, both Bill Reilly and myself were convinced. I generally feel Bill is a little too unsympathetic to the plight of the little guy. A little too quick to defend his rich counterparts. And a little too strict in his opposition to any tax on the wealthy. But if this is an idea that a very rich Jewish guy (Ben) and a very rich Irish guy (Bill) feel is worth paying for, then this, not at all rich Bohemian guy has no choice but to say.....Tax the Rich. H.C.