Tax It -- If You Want Less of It
19 January 2007
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
John Edwards wants to raise taxes on capital gains. E.J. Dionne describes Edwards's reasoning: "it's wrong to tax income from work at a higher rate than income from capital - an extension of his long-standing theme that the country should not value 'wealth over work'" ("Balanced Priorities," Jan. 19).
The distinction between "wealth" and "work" is overblown. Not only is wealth ultimately the product of work, the desire to accumulate wealth is a major spur to work. And importantly, capital successfully invested increases workers' productivity and, hence, their incomes. So to tax capital gains is to punish work, not value it.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
John Edwards wants to raise taxes on capital gains. E.J. Dionne describes Edwards's reasoning: "it's wrong to tax income from work at a higher rate than income from capital - an extension of his long-standing theme that the country should not value 'wealth over work'" ("Balanced Priorities," Jan. 19).
The distinction between "wealth" and "work" is overblown. Not only is wealth ultimately the product of work, the desire to accumulate wealth is a major spur to work. And importantly, capital successfully invested increases workers' productivity and, hence, their incomes. So to tax capital gains is to punish work, not value it.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Friday October 5, 2007 at 8:17am