To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Paying for Democracy and a Just Society
Democrats must re-frame the discussion about taxes. Taxes are how we pay for a just society. A progressive tax system requires us to pay taxes in proportion to how much wealth each of us, with the help of our infrastructure, rule of law and our capitalist economy, creates. Very low tax rates may or may not help the economy grow, but they certainly create greater class divisions with 25 to 30 percent of the wealth being owned by the top 1 percent of Americans. That is not good for our democracy and creating wealth is not the main goal of being an American.
Why is this important?
Democrats have allowed Republicans to gain the initiative and to control the national narrative by asserting that a progressive tax system kills jobs. Democrats have not challenging that narrative or pointed out the cost to our social fabric by creating a plutocracy of the 1 percent. A progressive tax system is the foundation of any just society. If you want the government off of your back, go to a third world country where there are not roads, police, infrastructure or rule of law.