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See yesterday's post for a refutation of the "rich don't pay their fair share" fallacy. Today, I'd like to address the economic philosophy behind that statement and why it is also wrong. The unstated, underlying economic assumption that many leftists make is that the rich have to pay their "fair share," because the rich are wealthy only because they have taken from society or the poor and that government must right that wrong through taxes or "spreading the wealth around." Nothing could be further from the truth. What's amazing about free-market capitalism is that the way you get rich is...

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On all the cables whenever His Majesty deigns to bless us with his presence.The topic is his latest plan to bash Republicans over the economy while actually doing nothing to help the economy.

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday will call for a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings as middle-income taxpayers, according to administration officials. With a special joint Congressional committee starting work to reach a bipartisan budget deal by late November, the proposal adds a new and populist feature to Mr. Obama’s effort to raise the political pressure on Republicans to agree to higher revenues from the wealthy in return for Democrats’ support of future cuts from Medicare and Medicaid. Mr....

“I’ll put it this way, you don’t deserve to keep all of it. It’s not a question of deserving, because what government is, is those things that we decide to do together," Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told the Don Wade & Roma show on WLS-AM. "I think you need to pay your fair share for things we've decided are our national priorities," Schakowsky added.

There is an old argument about rights that has enjoyed resurgent popularity in these days of “spreading the wealth around.” It is the assertion that while human beings undoubtedly have rights, they also have responsibilities. In fact, it is said that for every right there is a corresponding responsibility that is its complement. One should not be surprised that this line of reasoning appeals to statists of all varieties, because they see in it a way undercut rights and dress up their schemes of plunder and domination as “responsibilities.” However, it does not take the clear-thinking mind long to see...

Today, President Obama is kicking off a road show campaigning for raising taxes on higher income earners to help reduce the debt. We'll no doubt hear a lot about how the rich need to pay their “fair share.” Yet an analysis of tax data shows that wealthier taxpayers already pay a disproportionate amount of taxes and that their share under the current Bush rates is actually slightly higher than at the end of the Clinton era.In 2008, the most recent year for which full data is available, the infamous top 1% – those earning over $380,354 – paid 38.02...

Most people grossly underestimate the amount of taxes they pay. For example, if you live in a state with a 6% sales tax, when asked how much they would pay in taxes on a $100 purchase, most people incorrectly answer $6. Hardly!

The rich are not being taxed enough and the economy is suffering for it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. The former first lady broached the subject during a national security discussion at the Brookings Institution. She lamented that the United States has lowered taxes on the wealthy and said nations around the world need to "increase their public revenue collections" to spur investment. "The rich are not paying their fair share in any nation that is facing the kind of employment issues (the United States is), whether it's individual, corporate, whatever the taxation forms are," she said. Clinton...

What does it mean to get one's fair share in order to achieve the American Dream? Getting our fair share means never keeping what we have earned, because by giving away what we have, we get what others have. Getting our fair share means letting the stars shine on you instead of reaching out for them. Getting our fair share means nationalized health care because everyone should get to be on a list. And the collective should know every detail about everyone's details. Getting our fair share means letting all children receive the same level of education. All children should...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2009 AT 5:59 AM Streaming at 12:30: PERAB Meeting on Tax Reform Posted by Austan Goolsbee Today, the tax subgroup of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) will hold a meeting to gather ideas on tax reform. It will be the first of several such meetings. The meeting will center on tax simplification and will be live streamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live. I wanted to take the opportunity to explain why we assembled this subgroup, what areas the PERAB tax reform subgroup will focus on...

There are myths, misconceptions and fallacies peppering the American landscape that linger like holiday-season in-laws. Contrary to popular belief, Charles Manson did not audition for the Monkees television show in the 1960s, Channel “One” was not left off of VHS television set dials because it was reserved for military use, and marking “Jedi” as your religion on a census form will not force the federal government to grant it official status. Another fable often spun by class warriors and peddled to – and believed – by a good portion the American public is that the “rich” in this country do...

If politicians owned companies and ran them the way they run their governments, they'd be out of business in short order. Reckless and impulsive, they are famous for spending wastefully, charging too much for what they deliver and maxing out their credit lines, and then having the gall to dictate repeatedly how private businesses should be run. Overriding a gubernatorial veto, Maryland lawmakers last week passed the Fair Share Health Care law, which orders companies with 10,000 or more workers to spend 8 percent of their payrolls on employee health benefits or put equivalent sums in the state Med-icaid fund....

Socialist politicians have come up with a clever scheme that takes the focus off their incompetence and instead targets a nebulous "enemy" that everyone loves to hate: the rich. Tune in to any talk radio program in Ontario, the Maritimes or BC and without fail, callers will talk about making people "pay their fair share". While there is nothing wrong with the concept of paying one’s fair share, the definition of what constitutes a "fair share" seems to be fluid, as does the definition of who is rich.

....Heinz Kerry reported almost no ordinary wages last year. Her self-employment pay and a pension payment of $35,448 total less than $60,000, the return shows. "She's got less than $60,000 subject to the rates normal people pay," said Joseph B. Darby III, a partner in the tax practice at the Boston law firm Greenberg Traurig, who reviewed the tax return yesterday. Darby said Heinz Kerry's taxes reflected a common investment approach for wealthy people. Her assets are roughly split between low-yielding, tax-free bonds and dividend-paying stocks. Heinz Kerry gained most of her fortune in an inheritance from her former husband,...

Every time I hear a member of the Congress of the United States refer to “fair share” with reference to direct taxation, I brace myself for the recital of some legislation intentionally designed to disburse the costs of government by identifying a specific class of individuals, and either placing the burden of taxation directly upon them, or identifying them as a privileged class and allowing them to escape the burden of taxation which other citizens are forced to pay. It also seems to be an unfortunate truth that Democrats in Congress are well known for using the phrase “fair share”...

RIVERSIDE --- Tribal leaders, stung by Arnold Schwarzenegger's criticism of their financial support for his political rivals, said the gubernatorial candidate got it wrong, that they do their fair share to help California's economy. "He needs to do his homework. This is all new to him," said Michael Lombardi, chairman of the gaming commission for the Augustine Casino near Coachella. "We are paying our fair share." In an ad criticizing other candidates for taking money from Indian gambling interests, Schwarzenegger says of the tribes: "Their casinos make billions, yet pay no taxes and virtually nothing to the state. ... It's...

In a cruise dubbed the “fantastic voyage,” Haitians will have a chance to turn their image as “boat people” upside down. With the Cruising Into History Haiti 2004 Initiative, launched by the Haiti Support Project, Haiti will finally be honored for what organizers call its triumphant accomplishment of breaking the chains of slavery. On Aug. 14-21, 2004, an estimated 3,100 passengers will be transported to Haiti from Miami on a mega-ship as a part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution.“We want people to get on board,” said Ron Daniels, founder and chairman of Haiti Support...