I guess you could call me a liberal Democrat (although I'd still call myself a centrist).
To which a reader, Ed, commented:
You ARE a centrist. It's just that the right wing has moved so far to the right that they say you are a liberal. Wanting the rich to pay their taxes is centrist. Wanting decent health care is centrist. There is nothing that the Democratic Party wants that is actually liberal. It all would be considered very centrist until 1980.
And you know what? He's right (and wrong).
Ed's right about everything except the "1980" part. Because on taxes, I don't think we need to return to the 1950s, when the top tax bracket under Eisenhower was 91%, or even to the 1970s, when under Nixon long-term capital gains were taxed at 36.5%.
I'd just like to see us return to the 1990s when the top tax bracket under Clinton was 39.6% and capital gains were taxed at 21%.
As far as health care is concerned, I'd also like to return to the '90s, when Obamacare was still a Republican plan. Remember that? Instead of Hillarycare, individuals would be mandated to buy private insurance. If they couldn't afford it, the federal government would subsidize them. Mitt Romney, when he was governor of Massachusetts, thought it was a great idea. (Even Jim DeMint praised it.)
It wasn't until 2009 that it suddenly became a "government takeover of health care."
So, Ed, maybe you're right; on at least these two issues I am a centrist. In fact, some might even call me a moderate Republican.
I don't think we need to return to the 1950s, when the top tax bracket under Eisenhower was 91%, or even to the 1970s, when under Nixon long-term capital gains were taxed at 36.5%.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure. More taxes can pay for really good things - In the old days, we had money for college educations, Interstate highways, and a space program. Now? Paul Ryan says we can't afford medicare.
But more importantly, higher marginal rates kept income inequality at bay. CEOs made 10 times as much as their employees rather that 400. And they lived on the nicer side of town instead of on private jets and mansions with car elevators.
In my opinion, the destruction of the middle class is directly tied to the lowering of those tax rates. Now. A CEO takes a $10 million bonus instead of giving $10K to 1000 employees - or $1000 to 10,000. Or add 100 $100K employees, or 200 $50K employees. That's what makes teh middle class.
I am very interested to see what percent of taxpayers were in those top brackets. I would expect it is less than 1% - probably closer to the .1%. Higher rates on the ultra wealthy forced them to invest in their companies and in our country. Letting them take obscene profits at 15% or less is destroying our country.
The punchline is that "Moderate Republicans" are extinct. Heck, Obama is to to the RIGHT of Nixon on most issues.