Here’s the first paragraph from a San Francisco Chronicle story about California tax revenues:
Surprisingly robust collections of personal income taxes this month have brightened the state’s budget picture by $1.3 billion — easing concerns over a big shortfall next year.
My question: Why is it always a surprise? You’d think people (read: media people) would start realizing that, when the government allows its citizens to hang onto more of their money, those same citizens make more money, which in turn means more tax revenues, even at lower tax rates. To use an extreme, simplistic example, a 25% tax rate on $100 yields more tax revenue than a 35% tax rate on $65. Let me say what I always say: Governments don’t make money; people make money. And yet, unfailingly, it comes as a tremendous surprise to the media that, when people are allowed to make money, the government profitably realizes the consequences of its (or, rather, the President’s) decision to keep its greedy little mitts off of people’s wealth.
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Is this a serious question? From a Californian?
It’s always a surprise because every single person in your on-air (radio and TV) media is a liberal; almost all of your politicians from the local grassroots level right through your two exceptionally brilliant senators are liberals; every newspaper and editorialist in your state is liberal; and your electorate are themselves overwhelmingly liberal.
And liberals, after all, know; they know; I mean they KNOW: that lowering rates cannot possibly raise revenue.
And in the face of that absolute certainty, reality does not count.
In Maryland we supposedly have a “structural deficit.” One of these days I need to go through the past 8 years of: Revenue predictions and actual revenue. I suspect I’ll find much of the same with the legislature predicting less revenue than is actually collected on a regular basis.
JJ, re California media, you may be pleased to know that my local paper, The Orange County Register, is not liberal. Check out some of their editorials on the website: http://www.ocregister.com (if you care, and have time) and you’ll see that they’re a damn site better than the L. A. Times.
You may also be interested to know of two local L.A. talk radio stations, KFI640 and KABC790, both of which you can stream on your computer. I think the links are http://www.kfi640.com and http://www.kabc.com respectively. They have huge audiences, I’m glad to say. Their hosts are sometimes over the top, no question, but they each have a decidedly anti-liberal message, and spread it enthusiastically.