Republican Governor Riley Has Converted to the Creed of Government Greed

Human Events Online ^ | 08-25-03 | Moore, Stephen, Club for Growth

[Theodore R.]

Republican Governor Has Converted to the Creed of Government Greed

Does the Bible Demand Higher Taxes in Alabama? by Stephen Moore Posted Aug 25, 2003

You may be following the political hullabaloo in Alabama, where the new Republican governor wants to pass the biggest tax increase in the state’s history and says he has a highly influential advocate supporting him: God. Gov. Bob Riley says that it is his "Christian duty" to raise taxes—by 22%—in order to fund vital government services to help the poor.

"Jesus says one of our missions is to take care of the least among us," says Riley. "We’ve got to take care of the poor."

Fine, but that begs the question of whether raising taxes is a Christian response to tough times. The Bible seems to be ambiguous on this point. The governor’s tax hike supporters note that Jesus did preach: "Render unto Caesar that what is Caesar’s and to God that what is God’s."

The Bible does indeed call for us all to make acts of charity to aid the poor—this is the essence of living a Christian life. But an act of charity is by definition an action that is voluntary. Taxes aren’t voluntary. (Try not paying them, and see what happens. ) Moreover, liberal big government do-gooders are in many ways the ultimate hypocrites: to advance social justice they demand sacrifices of others that they will not take voluntarily themselves. For example, Warren Buffet recently sanctimoniously wrote that he opposes the Bush tax cut and that rich people like him don’t need a tax cut. But when he was asked whether he would turn over the extra millions of dollars that will be returned to him from the Bush tax cut, he clammed up and presumably pocketed the cash.

One wonders whether Jesus would believe that there is a limit as to how much taxes someone should have to pay. The biblical tithing rate is 10%. Shouldn’t what is enough for God be enough for Uncle Sam and local governments? Today, the average household pays roughly 38 cents of every dollar earned in taxes at all levels of government. That is, we are already paying almost four times what the Bible declares is necessary to be charitable individuals.

The tax burden is getting heavier, not lighter. In Alabama, as in most other states, tax collections have risen by more than 70% since 1990. The budget problem that needs fixing is overspending, not under-taxation.

Donald Hughes, of JesusJournal.com raises one last beguiling ethical question: "Who says that a tax hike is going to help the poor anyway?" That’s the question that no liberal dares to answer. For the left, it is an article of faith that big government helps people. But if that were the case the most Christian and the richest country in the 20th Century would have been either Mao’s China or the former Soviet Union. After all, those communistic regimes loved the poor so much that they virtually imposed a 100% tax on workers. What they produced was not aid to the poor, but a lot of poor people.

Studies across countries show that the nations with the most liberty and the lowest taxes have the least amount of poverty. Free enterprise is a Christian economic system because it does a better job than any other system ever devised to feed and clothe and house the poor. If you don’t believe that, go to some of the countries that do not practice free enterprise, like African nations, India, or Bangladesh and compare the living standards of their poor with ours.

Has big government in the United States helped make America a more Christian or morally responsible place? An argument could be made that just the opposite is true. For example, the Great Society welfare state incentivized millions of teenage Americans to engage in very socially destructive and arguably immoral behavior. The government essentially paid young unmarried women to have babies out of wedlock. As a result, in many inner cities in the 1970s and 1980s, more children were born into homes without fathers than to intact families. The government essentially became a surrogate father. And it did a pretty rotten job in that role, not just hurting the economy and the social structure, but also eroding long held moral taboos against illegitimacy, because of its harmful effect on children. Another example, the public schools teach 6th graders how to use condoms, but abstinence is seen as unrealistic. The Ten Commandments have been banned from the public square.

One of the lessons of history is to beware politicians who claim that God is their co-pilot. Some of the most dastardly political leaders, Hitler and Osama Bin Laden jump immediately to mind, have invoked the name of God in building support for their acts of violence and affronts against freedom—even religious freedom.

So, no there is no moral case for paying higher taxes. In fact, if Gov. Riley really wants to do his Christian duty and help the poor, he should try cutting taxes, not raising them. I can’t vouch that he would have the Bible on his side, but he would have sound economic theory solidly behind him.

Mr. Moore is HUMAN EVENTS' economics correspondent and is president of the Club for Growth.

[Theodore R.]

Are most AL Republcians expected to support their governor regarding this large tax hike?

[Catspaw]

Ironically, it's the Alabama Dems who are supporting Riley. Check www.al.com's section on Riley's tax increase plan.

[Theodore R.]

But it will also be the Democrats who are working to defeat him in 2006! I guess he cannot understand political reality. But it's "for the children."

[Catspaw]

Naw, that's next week. Or maybe the week after.

[Blessed]

Where is the Barf?

Appears to be a pagan trying to dicuss a Christian position and can only make his case with half truths.

This is by no stretch a tax increase.over 50% of taxpayers get a cut. 20% stay the same.

Of the 42 states that collect income taxes Alabama starts collecting at the lowest income level.

Timber owners pay $ .50 per acre as compared to Ga. where they pay $5 per acre.

[Moby Grape]

YOU HAVE READ PROPAGANDA..the ACUTAL wording of the proposed law (and I have READ it) says the following (PARAPHRASED):

Property taxes rates will decrease from 6.5% of 10% of assesed value to 3.5% of 100% of FAIR MARKET VALUE....THAT IS NOT A TAX REDUCTION...MY property taxes on my house will go up by $5000.00 in year 2006. BEISDES, you MISS the real POINT...what did they do with the 4.5% increase they got before that was supposed to FIX education?...the POINT is that MORE MONEY down the SAME toilet to the SAME liberal education NEA gang of educrats flush hole will NOT solve problems...the REAL issue is that CUTTING $150,000 superintendants IS what needs to be done....MORE MONEY to government will NOT solove problems.

[Moby Grape]

...and ONE MORE THING...DO you know which school system spends the MOST per child per year for education? NEW YORK CITY (Hillary's NY)...they only graduate 62%, and only 2% of those go on to college...Do you know which state spends the LEAST per student? South Dakota. Do you know which state has the highest per capital graduation rates and highest per capita scores? You guessed it...SOUTH Dakota...MONEY does NOT improve education.

[Moby Grape]

You are WOEFULLY misinformed.

[Blessed]

No read the Bill

[Moby Grape]

Do you own beach property in Arizona?...You are so easily mislead...50% will NOT get a tax reduction. That is an outright LIE by the proponents.

[RiVer19]

Do you really think taxing timberland will hurt landowners any at all? This increase will just be passed on to the hunters that lease the land's hunting rights. That is a fact. Just like taxing a business does not hurt the business owner. He just raises prices to cover it and the people buying the goods pay it. That's you and me. Not the business. Businesses do not pay taxes. People do. Same with the timberland tax increase. I know this from experience. My wife's family has a good deal of land in Alabama bought before the Civil War (if you can believe that, it's an amazing story really). They do not pay taxes so to speak. The hunters that lease the land pay them. Always have, always will. It's just the way it works. Taxes go up - hunters pay more per acre. I personally have not talked to one person that says they will vote "yes" on this.

[Moby Grape]

I HAVE read the BILL. HAVE YOU? You cannot have READ it and understood it, and actually be saying such foolishness? Are you a liberal, for whom FACTS cannot have any effect?

If you own property and the CURRENT law calculates your tax at 6.5% of 10% of assesed value, and the new law calulates (when in full force in 2006) at 3.5% of FAIR MARKET VALUE (and the law says that Fair Market Value is to be determined EVERY YEAR), which is greater? Can you do the math?

The proponets are calling this a tax decrease...they are LYING. Can you do the math?

The SAME trick was used in Michigan...Oh, they said, we will reduce the rates on property taxes and raise the rates of sales tax...OH, this is great the voters said, and passed it...so what happened. PROPERTY VALUES WENT UP EVERY YEAR....

The people of Alabama cannot give a BLANK check to this dishonest plan...BESIDES, we should NEVER lose sight of the fact that more money has NEVER improved education...just more over paid education superintendents and "professionals".

[Moby Grape]

Here are some FACTS for you...Georgia started the EDUCATION LOTTERY 10 years ago (raises MORE money than taxes, altough they didn't REDUCE any taxes when the lottery came in). So what did those BILLIONS do for education in Georgia?

Education Output (Grades), they are now 32nd, while Alabama with NO lottery is 35th.

State Revenue per capita, they are 42nd.

Revenue to Public Schools, they are 30th.

The lesson: DON'T GIVE MONEY TO THE SAME EDUCRATS WHO BROKE THE SYSTEM IN THE FIRST PLACE..it does NOT improve education.

[Blessed]

I feel real sorry for you. When the plan is fully implemented the owner of a $300,000 house will pay less than $2000 per year in property taxes. The same house in Cobb or Gwinett county of Ga. would pay about $2500 this year.

Georgia also has no citizens who pay more state income tax than they do Federal. Not the case currently in AL.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Our property taxes will go UP, some more than 300%. Our business deductions will be decreased or eliminated -- we won't even be allowed to deduct the taxes we pay to the federal govt. from our state returns.

I voted for Riley, contributed to his campaign -- and will vote for him again over a dem -- but I will NOT vote for this plan.

[hocndoc]

Not only "who is to say that taxes will help the poor," but, who is to say that the poor should not help themselves? Or, failing that, at least help us help them by working and repaying us for helping them. They could literally repay us or they could become productive and help the next generation create wealth so that there are no poor.

I know that this is simplistic on the surface, but does poor equal completely unfit for work? Only very rarely.

Poor does not equal entitled to the fruit of other's life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.