I was encouraged when I learned that House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) wanted to tax the wealthiest Americans to pay for any troop buildup in Afghanistan. We already have a situation where because our military is made up of volunteers most of the country is disconnected from the human costs of our wars. Allowing our elites to escape the price-tag through deficit spending/borrowing seems a bridge too far. Unfortunately, Levin has backed down.
“Well in the middle of a recession we’re probably not going to be able to increase taxes,” Levin told CBS’s Face the Nation.
Levin still supports the idea of a surtax, but says it “should have happened some time ago.”
Levin is probably responding to political reality, but I don’t think soaking the rich during a recession is a bad policy either economically or politically. It’s a bad idea during a recession to increase taxes on businesses or to take away disposable income from the middle class. But, provided that the tax hike doesn’t hit small business owners, there isn’t any economic reason to worry about taking some hide out of millionaires even in a down economy. Remember, the alternative is to go even deeper into debt.
