Why Raising Taxes Will Increase Liberty In The Long Run

Sebastian Mallaby had a great column in the Washington Post entitled "McCain's Convenient Untruth". Please read the whole column, but here's the real point:

"So McCain's swipe at Obama's tax plan was something other than straight talk. As a share of the economy, Obama's plan would create an overall tax burden similar to the one that existed in Ronald Reagan's time. It would not choke off job creation; rather, it would slow the growth of the deficit and soften inequality. But the really depressing thing is that McCain himself once knew that. He opposed the Bush tax cuts before he supported them, saying that they would deepen inequality. But now he touts a tax reduction that is larger and more radical than even President Bush proposed, and he slams his opponent for holding the view that he himself held until recently. "

Now, libertarians generally support lower taxes in all instances. Here's a case where libertarian Democrats would differ with them. Like Mallaby, I believe that we should raise taxes on the wealthy and reduce the deficit. The would reduce inequality and help the overall economy.

Sen. Obama's plan does increase taxes on the wealthy and reduce them on the middle class and poor. He rightly, in my opinion, believes that this will eventually lead to economic growth and, yes, eventually reduce the need for transfers to the poor. The only way to reduce these transfers is to reduce the number of poor and needy people. No other plan is just or feasible.

Again, this is a real difference with libertarians in the short run, but it the only real way to move forward in eventually reducing government.