Is Raising Taxes Untenable?

First Read points out the lack of will in our federal government to generate the revenue necessary in order to pay for all of its spending.

One of the bigger, but more under-reported, sea changes in American politics is how any kind of tax increase — whether in war or peace, good economic times or bad ones — has become absolutely unacceptable. After all, Ronald Reagan raised taxes. So did every modern American president involved in war, until George W. Bush. But not anymore. Indeed, as one of us pointed out on Nightly News last night, only 29% (or 157) of the 535 and House members and senators serving in Congress were around the last time — 1993! — the federal government raised taxes, and that was on gasoline.

That makes 16 years since taxes have been raised in any significant form. In fact, as we all know, Bush needlessly cut them and the debt continued to skyrocket.

However, let’s remember that Obama did run and win handily on his “tax the rich” platform. Sure, he wanted to do that to pay for a tax cut for the middle class, but maybe he pulls back on the tax cut and simply uses the money to pay for health care, driving down the federal budget deficit, etc. Still, the overarching point is that the notion that we can’t raise taxes right now seems to be a bit, umm, leading. As if MSNBC wants to create a story by deeming tax increases as “completely unacceptable?”

But yes, there are opponents on both sides of the aisle to more taxes and it’s more than little disappointing that they don’t realize the money has to come from somewhere. But what’s the alternative? Either we raise taxes on the wealthy, who have been consolidating their wealth for the past decade, or we start to make hard, wholesale cuts across the board, including Defense, corporate welfare, prison funding, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and Social Security.

Here’s the question: How much more would you pay to get health care reform for all?

(Photo: Getty via Daylife)