Kaching, RedStateVT has a point

Reading the Economist today, they have a lead about how Israel needs to get the Haredim, ultra-orthodox Jews who are non-working Jewish scholars, into the mainstream of working, performing military service, and paying taxes.  In s to lessening the budget burden of supporting the Haredim with welfare payments, it would also perhaps balance their militancy.

The Haredim are very anti-Palestinian and the primary dwellers in the West Bank Settlements that are an obstacle to peace.  They neither pay for their military protection nor serve in the military.  Yet, they are the primary obstacle to a land/border deal with the Palestinians.  If they paid taxes and risked their life in military service, they would be more realistic.

RedStateVT has bemoaned the fact that many in the U.S. who do not make much money ( I think you have to make more than $40,000 before you pay any effective income tax) because they will not support tax reform.  He has a point, but the working poor do pay social security tax, medicare tax, state income tax sometimes, utility, gas and sales taxes.  They also pay property taxes if they own a home.  So the working poor do pay a lot of taxes relative to their income.  All those that I listed add up to between 15% and 25% of income depending on your state and home ownership status.

The problem in the U.S. is that none of those taxes, with the exception of state income tax and property tax, are that obvious to the payer.

And despite RedStateVT's belief that, if these people pay another 5% of their income in income taxes, they would vote for GOP to reduce their tax rate, I believe they would still vote for the Democrats who believe in the government services that help people who make too little to save anything and every working person should be saving something.

The issue in the U.S. tax system is fairness.  If I am successful in my new job, I will pay 15% like Mitt Romney because my income will be from "carried interest".  That is the law, but I am not doing anything differently than I did in my last job when I paid 39% on my marginal income.  That is not fair.  There are literally 100's of tax rules that create unfairness.  That is what needs to be fixed.  And perhaps if everyone paid a little income tax, we would generate a reasonable discussion around this.

I fear, however, that until the GOP is willing to raise revenues to pay for to pay for 25% to 35% of the deficit reduction, we will not get the reasonable discussion that we need.