To Some, Tax Cuts Are Irresponsible Government Giveaways

by Mark Cavers On Friday September 24th, the Editorial Board at USA Today penned an opinion piece titled, “Our view on the Pledge to America.”  In this article, USA Today refers to the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as an irresponsible “giveaway.” Even more irresponsible is the pledge’s vow to permanently extend all the...

by Mark Cavers

On Friday September 24th, the Editorial Board at USA Today penned an opinion piece titled, “Our view on the Pledge to America.”  In this article, USA Today refers to the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as an irresponsible “giveaway.”

Even more irresponsible is the pledge’s vow to permanently extend all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Doing so would reduce federal revenue by $3.9 trillion over the next decade, every penny of it likely to be borrowed, as has largely been the case since the tax cuts were passed. This giveaway, along with a new tax deduction for small business income, would dwarf the savings from the proposed domestic spending and hiring freezes.

The choice of the word “giveaway” highlights the distorted view of the relationship between citizens and their elected government that is prevalent in the media and some circles of government today.  The word giveaway designates a transfer of ownership, in this case from government to the citizens.  The editorial board is claiming that your income, and the time that goes into making it, belongs first to government; your after tax income is a gift from a benevolent administration.  This government-centric model sees an all-important bureaucracy, which wisely allocates resources to different sectors of the economy and doles out money to citizens in the form of charitably gifts.  This view misses the point; it is our money!  Contrast this model with the views of columnist George Will:

Money is time made tangible — the time invested in the earning of it. Taxation is the confiscation of the earner’s time.

These two quotes highlight the straightforward choice we face between the failed tax and spend policies of the past in which bureaucrats believe we should be thankful for whatever portion of our income they graciously let us keep; and a government that respects an individual’s freedom and ownership; rewards people for their hard work; and allows families to keep and spend more of their incomes.

The Illinois Policy Institute’s Honest Taxation Pledge is a call for Legislators to commit to protecting the time that you invest every day in earning the money needed to support your family.  Join with us in asking your legislator not to punish hard working families with a job-killing, time confiscating tax hike.

Here is the original USA Today piece and my responding letter to the editor.