The Gospel of Wealth

Paul Krugman makes an excellent point from the Times reporting on how the Trump family has evaded taxes for generations.  While the specifics of the Trump family's illegal tax evasion are damning to the Trump family, they also speak to a dysfunction at the heart of our tax system.  Rich people don't pay taxes.

The very heart of progressive taxation is that people who have more money should pay more money.  Having benefited the most from a country's laws and economy, they should respond by paying more.  They will also have more left over, even after paying a greater absolute dollar amount.

First, we have a political party dedicated to the idea that taxing rich people is wrong.  In fact, the Republican party seems pretty opposed to the 16th Amendment in its entirety.  (I doubt their voters are unhappy with progressive taxation, but you never know.)  So, one of the two major parties is pretty much anti-tax, which suggests that taxes as a whole may be illegitimate.  Then, you create a very complicated tax code - rather than simply collecting taxes and redistributing that money, as other countries do - which allows the very wealthy to illegally hide their money. 

Meanwhile, the country racks up trillions of dollars in debt for the sole purpose of giving more money to the very rich.  Part of the reason Romney lost in 2012 was because he was linked to the culture of plutocracy.  The Scrooge McDuck caricature of the Republican party is real.  It's also unlikely to survive close scrutiny, which is why they distract you with Colin Kaepernick and the War on Christmas.  The Times' Trump Tax story is the most important story this fall, and no one is talking about it.  Some of that is the 24 hour a day clown show at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Part of it is America's unfortunate reflexive worship of wealth as somehow signaling virtue. (Hello, Elon Musk.)

America needs to disenthrall itself from the idea that our richest citizens are our best people.  The best of us are not best because they are rich.  Some are.  There are good people who are rich and good people who are poor.  Wealth in itself is not a signifier of virtue. In fact, given how people apparently acquire their wealth, it could be exactly the opposite.