# Will taxing the rich cause them to work less? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 24, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096 "2008-06-24T18:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096/161 "2008-06-29T17:19:39Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] Of course not. I just don’t think we should do anything to alter it. It is also true that someone making a million dollars a year would fell it more than Gates to pay, say, 20% of his income. Big deal. The more money you have the more you can pay out and not have it affect you. Sounds kinda like a law of the universe to me. [/QUOTE] I’ve been thinking about this over the past few threads on related topics. In general I favor less government interference in the choices of a free society. At some point it comes down to reality vs a principle. We try to find the proper balance that promotes the greater good. I’m not in favor of a welfare state that encourages generations of economically dependent people and a lack of personal motivation. I’m not in favor of economic policies that encourage attitudes of entitlement. I’m also not in favor of holding so fast to an economic principle that we allow good people to suffer unnecessarily when the economic means is well within our grasp. Whatever system we put in place will be imperfect. The more of a safety net we provide for the poor the more it will be taken advantage of by a few. It isn’t just the poor who have taken advantage of it. Businesses have made a bundle from providing services to the poor. The more we cut back on the amount of safety net we provide more people will fall through the cracks and suffer. We can continue to strive for a balance that provides some support while encouraging motivation. Asking a working family barely getting by to pay the same percentage as a family that has more than enough looks fair according to the numbers but is hardly the same thing in reality. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096/162 "2008-06-29T21:12:29Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] That is immaterial. Me buying car hurts a lit more than gates buying a car, but unless you want to move to a communist society where everyone has the same everything, people will have varying levels of pain when it comes to parting with money for _anything_—whether it be cars, food, or taxes. [/quote] That’s why we have products at different price points. I don’t know about you, but I don’t buy cars as expensive as the ones he buys - or those stars into cars. There are grocery stores at different price points too. Taxes are different - though maybe we can call the highest bracket “Platinum Class” or something, and people would beg to be in it. > [@](#): > > As in a communist state. I agree. I also stipulated, which you seemed to ignore, that having everyone pay the same dollar amount would be ideal. But at least having everyone pay the same percent has maintains a degree of fairness. I can accept that i order to run the country I should tithe, so to speak, a percent of my income. And I should expect me neighbors to do the same. Are you advocating the same dollar amount for the same income, which is communism, or same dollar amount regardless of income, which is absurd? An average of [$17,338](http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=21135) in taxes goes to the feds. You want the guy making $20K a year to pay that? Your admirable desire for fairness is still resulting in the redistribution of income. > [@](#): > > Of course not. I just don’t think we should do anything to alter it. It is also true that someone making a million dollars a year would fell it more than Gates to pay, say, 20% of his income. Big deal. The more money you have the more you can pay out and not have it affect you. Sounds kinda like a law of the universe to me. So why is the same absolute percentage fairer than a progressive system, given that the value of money decreases faster than linearly with increasing income? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096/163 "2008-06-29T21:16:22Z")
[QUOTE=sleestak] Let me make sure I understand. If a person earns enough money to live off the proceeds with out working, that isn’t a right? Are you saying that a person _does not_ have a right to what they have earned? Slee [/QUOTE] No, it isn’t a right for the government to ensure that an heir have enough to live off the inheritance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096/164 "2008-06-30T04:16:18Z")
> [@](#): > > You misspelled “cut”. And I am in favor of the wealthy paying what they should by eliminating loopholes that they can take advantage of. If you’re unaware that the wealthy pay a lower overall tax rate than the non-wealthy, then I suggest you learn the facts about taxation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-taxing-the-rich-cause-them-to-work-less/454096.md?page=8)