If you support raising taxes on higher income people, are you supporting legalized theft through government?

Any taxation on income is legalized theft, regardless of the level of income. The usual suspects here continue to profess their ignorance and impressionable nature.

The "problem" is, conservative/libertarian principles that we present are based on sound economics and natural law, and it isn't always intuitive. The science of economics is often at odds with common sense. So, you can't get by with superficial claptrap; you have actually to know a little about how things work to explain it. 95% of government officials and perhaps 90% of the population don't have a clue, as evidenced by their statements. Even if you do have a fundamental grasp of economics, it isn't always easy to articulate, unless you make a living at it. Even if you can articulate it, it's damn hard to do in a 15 second sound-bite, unless you're very, very practiced at it.

Progressively taxing higher wage earners reduces aggregate wealth. Period. Taxing the highest producers in the economy results in the greatest reduction of spending power, borrowing power, and loaning power.

We can wax philosophical, or listen to self-proclaimed Marxists, socialists, and communists in the Yahoo! Answers crowd provide us with fallacious economic mobility figures steeped in class envy, but at the end of the day the reality of the situation is that when you punish the top wage earners (which includes small businesses), the lowest percentile suffers the most - which is the supposed recipient of these dollars.

Economic fallacies are so prevalent that they have become a new orthodoxy.

P.S. To all of you touting the harmless nature of allowing tax cuts to expire: The tax rates of the 1980s have as much to do with the tax rates of 2009 as the price of tea in China. This recession borne primarily of uncertainty buttressed by governmental influence and market manipulation cannot receive any more body blows.

You repeatedly assert that returning to the tax rates of the 1980s is harmless, though, how would the market respond if suddenly all goods and services had their prices increased by 10-20%? You can easily purchase a DVD player for $30 today, yet they were over $1000 when initially released. By your logic, the return of these prices would realize no economic impact worth a mention.

A tax increase of even 1% results in millions upon millions of dollars of reduced wealth for the economy. You people on the left simply must self-educate. These "rich" that most of you speak of are actually small businesses that pay very modest individual incomes. How the proponents of a progressive taxation mechanism can possibly claim moral superiority is a micron short of hysterical and beyond any rational thought.

No, because all citizens including rich people agree to live under an evolving social contract enforced by the Government and decided on by the majority of people through elected representation. This is the argument used by Republican President William Howard Taft when he signed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution into law almost 100 years ago, thus implementing the graduated income tax and higher taxes for the rich.

No, because taxes are part of civilization and life. Taking taxes could only really be viewed as unfair under a totalitarian government, where the government just benefits those in power. However we live in a democracy. This type of government is accountable to the people. As a nation we pay into the government in order to maintain our collective welfare. The government is our way of providing services to the nation that could not be justly filled by companies, which are not accountable to the people, such as the military, law enforcement, education, and healthcare. In order for our capitalist system to work, there must be equality of opportunity.

We have a public education system in order to ensure that all people have access to the knowledge they need to be productive in our modern society. If there were only private schools, then only those who could afford it would be able to obtain an education, there would be no social class mobility, wealth will stay in the hands of a few, and essentially we will have a plutocratic society.

Healthcare should be ensured to maintain not only the welfare of all citizens but to ensure a productive workforce essential to the economy.

Law enforcement and justice must be provided in order to maintain society and people's safety. It is necessary to stop fraud and dangerous practices in business which may be unfair to other companies on the market, and the people who are being provided with a product or service.

Only a single body could adequately run a military with coordinated effort. We place this in the hands of our government which is accountable to the people. The military should only be used to defend the nation from threats that the citizens view as legitimate concerns.

Taking taxes would be theft only if we were not provided services in return. As citizens of this country we should be sure to participate in our democracy and keep our government accountable to us. Whining about the government's power doesn't achieve anything.

Also, when and if I achieve a high income (I'm a college student right now, my family is not well-off), I will be proud to support future generations and my society by paying taxes, since I am in debt myself. Greed is not a virtue, and no-one achieves status without outside help. You may pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but who gave you the straps, or the expertise and materials to make the straps?????

Just because it is the government who is doing the robbery, does not make it any less a crime.

The Law books are full of laws, yet only a handful are prosecuted, depending on the lawbreaker.

Illegal Immigration under Democrats Rule is illegal to pursue.

Ripping off the American People via the Government tax system is illegal to prosecute under Democrats Rule.

Stealing is stealing no matter who the crook is, a petty thief or the Federal Government.

All tax on income is THEFT. I'm tired of paying for this warfare/welfare state! I struggle month to month on my salary... if only 30% of it werent taken away every year.

The tax rates have been much more progressive in the past - how can they be theft now if it was OK in the 1960's?

I definitely do not support legalized theft through government, which is what happens when MY TAXES go directly into the pockets of Wall Street geniuses who stole so much money from their clients that their companies collapsed. You do not deserve my money. Sociopathic greed is unbecoming. `

Actually it's preventing the higher income people from stealing from the rest of us. They pay for their use of things such as the court system. So stop legalized theft by the wealthy and huge multi-national corporations and increase their taxes!!

No. That is how a progressive tax system works. The Bush tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy adversely affected our deficit situation. They were unnecessary and were based on a disproven economic theory.

Note that the wealth and income gap between the very wealthy and the middle class continues to widen. This does not benefit the country in any way.

....So it's not theft unless it's the rich that have to pay more ?

It's ok to tax the middle and lower income classes ?....that's not theft ?

I think income tax in general is unconstitutional....and counterproductive to capitalism... but the system is what it is. We have a progressive tax structure. The more you make, the more you pay. That's the cost of living in a society where even worthless dumb blondes like Paris Hilton can inherit a fortune.

What you should consider is this..... Why does Rupert Murdoch who makes a hundred million per year, pay the same tax percentage (%), as someone who makes 251k per year ?

It's not about the richest 10%...(250k - 1 mill per year)... it's about the richest 2% that is not paying their fair share.

Someone who makes a quarter mill per year isn't exactly "RICH" these days... they are well -off I would say.... but why do they pay the same tax percentage as someone who makes hundereds of millions per year ?