A Moral Argument for Progressive Taxes - David Cay Johnston

Complete Video at: http://fora.tv/2008/04/14/David_Cay_J...

Author David Cay Johnston discusses the history of progressive taxation, and argues that these policies are inherent to a democratic government.

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Since 1995 when David Cay Johnston turned his investigative reporting skills to explore the murky waters of tax law, Some tax policy officials now consider him, as one tax law professor put it, "the de facto chief tax enforcement officer of the United States."

Johnston will detail how a strong and growing economy lends itself to job uncertainty, debt, bankruptcy, and economic fear for a vast number of Americans. As tax season draws to a close, come find out who is getting a free lunch and who is picking up the bill - The Commonwealth Club of California

David Cay Johnston was an investigative journalist for The New York Times now focusing on the subject of taxation. He accepted a buyout offer from the Times in April 2008 and is now an independent reporter.

He most recently published Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill, about hidden subsidies, rigged markets, and corporate socialism. It follows Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else, a New York Times bestseller. Johnston received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting "for his penetrating and enterprising reporting that exposed loopholes and inequities in the U.S. tax code, which was instrumental in bringing about reforms." He also won the Book of the Year award from Investigative Reporters & Editors.

Robert Saldich is the Chair of the Board of Governors at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, CA.

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  News & Politics

[xpat73]

I believe in progressive taxation.

[Skibum Willy]

In “Inheriting an Abundant Earth” a simple rule tweak on inheritance ends up changing the direction and purpose of modern human life! Here’s a fair way to give the 99% the key to the vaults! It's something specific we can demand. Are we really just this close to having it work right? Break one link, and the chains fall away! Oh yeah, it's a Ski movie! Watch “Inheriting an Abundant Earth” (“Occupying Chairlifts” 5.0) then sign the petition, and share it!!

[Mikail Zavalet]

This is the lie of the capitalist system, thinking that "if you just work hard enough, you will become rich". And basically the lie many libertarians will tell themselves happens on their dream world, never mind that without a superior authority there is no one to safeguard this order which allows a society to even exist in the first place.

[UnderseaCaveman]

Utility Theory and "Cost/Benefit/Risk" Models would both argue for "Progressive Tax".

A wealthy person (by definition has excess capacity) will pay (cost) to reduce risk (benefit).

The less wealthy the less risk-avoiding capacity one has.....

To summarize, "it sucks to be poor"

(F/O, Mr. Forbes for suggesting "flat taxes"......F/O to all rich people for suggesting "flat taxes". You didn't create wealth, you are just fortunate).

[NiceGuyCody]

Sounds more like you're on of those Regressives who pretends that surges in nonrepresentative taxes, government overregulation and the eradication of Constitutional Rights in favor of Leftist idealism and emotional hysteria don't qualify as overextension of the government because of some Robespierran BS about nonexistent "social contracts".

[Gogargoat]

If progressive taxation is so great, then why do we see in almost every country in the world that taxation is some kind of weird function which usually is progressive up to the middle class, but then stays the same proportion of income? How is that fair? And I'm not even mentioning loopholes and how inflation can shift more people into the "proportional" tax region over time.

[Peter Kobak]

Imagine a scenario in which I have $1,000,000 and you have $10,000. The two of us spend equal time researching investments and make the same decision to risk 10% of our wealth. Turns out the decision was good; why is it justified for me to make $100,000 for the same work that delivered you $1,000? Because the capitalist system we live in is flawed in favor of me, the rich. For this reason, when I pay taxes, my huge benefit should pay into the system that allows me to have it.

[Peter Kobak]

this isn't an argument. you just applied the concept to two numbers and did the math correctly. I seemed to have missed how you arrived at your positive conclusion.