Apparently the newest pro-tax meme out of the Left is that millions of dumb Americans dont already know that they are benefactors of social spending programs and that if they understood this, they would surely support government expansion. Such programs they highlight include:
- 529 or Coverdell savings deduction
- mortgage interest deduction
- hope or lifetime learning tax credit
- student loans
- child and dependent tax care credit
etc. etc. Whole list here. I dont want to spend too much time on this silliness, but two immediate responses come to mind
- If tax credits, ie the ability to keep more of your money and be taxed less, is a government social program, then the implication is that all your money belongs to the government, and the very fact you keep any of it is a gift or benefaction of the government for which you should be grateful. The fact the Left cannot understand the simple difference between, on the one hand, keeping more of your own money, and on the other, getting money that has been taken by force from others, explains a lot about the current budget fight.
- In many cases, Americans benefit from government programs because the government does not allow any alternative. Or, if it allows an alternative, the government provides heavily subsidized services or pre-paid services (e.g. public education which you pay for whether you use it or not) that crowd out private alternatives. Just because roads and schools and home loans have heavy government involvement does not mean that they require that government involvement to exist.
More analysis here.
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