Every time I read an article that mentions the deficit or the debt, I can count on reading—one more time—the sob-story cliché about how our “children and grandchildren” will have to pay “higher taxes” because of those deficits we’re running today.
Even Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has joined the chorus. According to Time/CNN, he said:
Deficits matter because they represent additions to debt that our children and grandchildren will either have to pay through higher taxes or reduced services.
I guess I’m supposed to feel guilty, or slip an intergenerational apology letter-to-my-granddaughter into my safe deposit box, or begin a self-flagellation program or something. But I don’t, I won’t, and I won’t.
No, I have long since retired my crying towel. You see, I actually hope our kids pay higher taxes—much, much higher. As a matter of fact, I wish I myself were paying higher taxes right now, this year. I wish the same thing for my wife, and for you, and for all of my friends and neighbors.
Hold on, there. Before you jump to the hasty conclusion that I’m off my rocker, take the following simple test. Look at the two hypothetical paychecks, then decide which one you’d choose.
I predict that Paycheck B, the one with the higher taxes, will win this contest by a comfortable margin of 100% to 0%. (If you know anyone who would choose Paycheck A, please refer them to a psychiatrist; they’d be wasting their time reading this blog, not to mention messing up my survey.)
And just so the main point isn’t overlooked…
That, by the way, is what “economic growth” means to the individual. Higher pay, pretax and after-tax, with both numbers getting higher and higher at the same rate or more every year. Under those conditions, who gives a hoot if “taxes are higher”? Not me—and that’s one big reason why I traded in my crying towel for a political BS-detector a long time ago.
Growth has been the underlying message at this blog ever since I started it more than a year ago. I sure wish more politicians understood what "growth" means. Maybe we should elect some different ones—some who do understand it—don’t you think?
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End notes:
1 (...for nitpickers): Okay, a more-precise title would have been, “I wish my taxes were higher, but not my tax rates.”
2: The top-priority job of the Federal Reserve (Ben Bernanke and gang) is to maintain the value of their product, the Federal Reserve Note—such that “higher pay” always means “higher purchasing power.” (For more on the money aspect of the economy, see my six-part series that starts here.)
3: A top-priority job of Congress is to write and pass laws that foster economic growth. (For more on how badly most of our Capitol Hill politicians are botching that aspect of their job, or how badly most journalists are botching the economic message, see just about any other article in this blog. Try this one, for example.)
4 (On the lighter side): Just for fun every once in a while, go to Google News and type the following phrase into the search box (…yes, including the quote marks):
deficit debt “children and grandchildren”
…then hit the “Search News” button. A fraction of a second later, you’ll have a list of good chuckles to choose from—most of them from the Podunk Times and the Backwater Herald, but also some from major publications, too. If you enjoy a good laugh as much as I do, you’ll add this activity to your weekly to-do list.
