Not at all Obama

Reader comment on: Government Pay Higher Than Private Sector

Submitted by benjamin Geballe (United States), Mar 5, 2010 15:10

I think we need a definition of what reverse Robin Hood is. If one of my 8th grade students buys a candy bar at the corner store and pays sales tax on it, then it is reverse robin hood when the state of New York turns around and spends this money on something that benefits a wealthy person - is that reverse Robin Hood? If a government employed nurse makes 7k more than a private sector one, but even the private sector one pays hardly any income tax, that is reverse robin hood? Isn't elimination of the estate tax a great example of saving money for the wealthy, with the decrease in revenue having to be offset by other taxes or spending cuts that help poor people? I think the talk of reverse robin hood on this site is disingenuous when looked at in the context of the all the ideas this site espouses, many of which would have the effect of increasing taxes on the lower earners, and decreasing them GREATLY on the upper income (elimination of estate tax, flat tax, elimination of capital gains taxes etc). If all the ideas on this site took effect, the end result would be a far more regressive tax system than we have today.

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