Every Democrat running for every office in the United States echoes a standard campaign theme: “I plan on taxing the rich and spreading the wealth around.” They chant, the rich do not “pay their fair share of taxes and it is time that they do.” They preach, “It is time to reduce income inequality.” Their gospel is, “Those who have benefited the most should help those who have benefited least.”
Who do leftists consider rich when they obsess about raising taxes? The Tax Policy Center says about 10% of U.S. households have incomes over $200,000. The top fifth of them pay 69% of all federal taxes. If “the rich” already pays more than their fair share, why does the left always demand that they must pay more? This is the paradigmatic liberal axiom: “It is time that we punish the rich.”