Tax Damaging Choices, Not Beneficial Behavior

The same distinction between beneficial and destructive choices informs the core conservative argument against progressive income taxes. Right now, we punish people with higher tax rates when they make the positive choice to work harder and earn more. Defenders of the status quo might argue that earning income at a subsistence level is a necessity, not a choice, so it is rightly tax exempt -- we exclude the first $20,000 or so (or more, depending on your family circumstances). But if you choose to earn a higher income and bring home more than you need for a minimal standard of living, you pay taxes on those extra earnings with rates that increase along with your income.

This argument in effect treats increased productivity and prosperity as a bad habit, like cigarettes and alcohol. Taxation always involves discouragement of any activity subject to those additional costs. As rates increase, the discouragement becomes more powerful and effective. The reduction in smoking rates (closely tracking steep increases in cigarette taxes) demonstrates the potent impact of tax policy in steering behavior. So why accept a tax policy that penalizes hard work and productivity? The more an individual earns, the more he benefits the community at large through his wealth-creating, job-creating activity. Even if conservatives succeed in our impassioned efforts to shrink government, officials at every level still need to raise revenue by taxing one thing or another.

With that in mind, it makes little sense to punish people for doing what they need to do to take care of themselves, or to discourage choices -- like hard work and canny investment -- that benefit the community. Leaders may argue about the specific advisability of taxing soda or Snickers, tanning salons or gas-guzzling vehicles, but as a general principle, it makes more sense to attach new costs to questionable choices and luxuries than to burden either beneficial behavior or the struggle for simple survival.