4/22/1993

Personal Responsibility

It is important that one looks first to himself for the answers to one's problems because there is no other entity that can have as profound and direct impact on one's life than oneself.  At the same time there is nothing that one has more direct control over than one's own actions.

On the other hand, there is nothing that one has less direct control of (of man-made proportions) than the government.  In fact, one's direct control of government decreases proportionally with increases in population and government size.  The result is a sledgehammer approach to all problems, with an attempt to differentiate services and provide "personal" attention through the creation of bureaucracy.

This is one of the reasons, along with fear of tyranny, that our founding fathers feared large government and believed that the government that governs best is that which governs least.

4/12/1993

Higher Taxes Could Hurt More Than the Wealthy

There are two basic flaws in Gary Clayton's claim that raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans is both fair and wise. First, virtually the entire increase in income among wealthy Americans during the 1980's occurred immediately following the Tax Reform Act of 1986, indicating not so much an actual increase in income as an increase in the accuracy of reporting income. The wealthy were encouraged to report more of their income because of the reduction both in loopholes and tax rates.

Second, no group is in as much control of their income as our top wage earners. Made up disproportionately of doctors, lawyers, business owners and senior executives, they are able to pass on additional costs, taxes included, to their clients and customers. In the end, it is we in the middle and lower classes who end up paying their tax bills in the form of higher prices.

Dr. Clayton's call for higher taxes on the wealthy are based upon faulty analysis of the income changes of the 1980's, will lead to higher prices for all Americans and will help to divert investment funds from the private sector to the government, one of the least productive investments we can make.

A Dangerous Use of Government Programs

President Clinton wants to allow the use of federal funds to pay for low-income Medicaid abortions. This raises the interesting concept of investing a few hundred dollars today that could cynically save perhaps tens of thousands later in welfare and possible prison costs. This smacks of such dangerous government intervention that I have a difficult time fathoming the depths to which it could lead.