Taxing the Rich, or, I Don't Want the World, I Just Want Your Half

So. President Obama feels he’s been given a mandate to tax the rich more, given his re-election.

I’m on the fence with it.

What’s knocking me off the fence is NOT anything from the following list:

1.      I think those who make tons of money ought to pay more in taxes.

2.      I’m not rich myself, so HA HA SUCKERS!

3.      Taxing the rich more will/won’t stimulate job creation.

4.      Taxing the rich will encourage them to move elsewhere.

What’s knocking me off the fence is Rich Kids of Instagram, whose motto is “They Have More Money Than You and This is What They Do.”

I don’t see a lot of job creation here. Oh, I suppose there’s a little of the famous trickle-down economy – these folks are buying gas to fuel their hybrid boats, cars, planes, etc., and I imagine the people who supply the flowers, the Dom Perignon, the peeled grapes and who also work as pool cleaners, “staff” and such are grateful for the opportunity to service them – but I’m not seeing a lot of bootstrapping.

I’m not jealous. I’ve got what I need, and have a few of the wants. I get back more in tax credits than I pay in income taxes, and I’m not even doing all these funky things with accounts in the Cayman Islands and stock losses and such.

But what’s more important? That Junior Rich Britches have an Aston Martin for that night on the town, or that the freeloaders and parasites get free food and health care and other Welfare Queenish stuff for the rest of their lives?

Of course, it’s not like that.

It’s more like this: In the Book of Mormon, everyone’s at their happiest when they’re treating each other equally, when there are no rich and poor among them not because the government is there with a rake in one hand and a shovel in the other, but because people want it that way. Everyone wants is that way. There’s no selfishness or greed or jealousy. The rich guys didn’t hate the poor guys because they were poor, and the poor guys didn’t hate the rich guys because they were rich. They just helped each other out. To him that had nothing, it was given.

That’s how the United Order worked, folks.

Am I ready for it? Not hardly. I won’t be a liar and say I am. And I’ll leave it at that.