The T word

by David Safier

I'm not a political consultant, and I don't play one here on BfA. That being said, I'm certain Dems need to stand for something — firmly and clearly, even if they take flak as a result — or they can't count on anyone to be on their side other than the always-vote-for-Dems crowd.

And I don't see how Dems can take a strong stand on our budget crisis while they run away from the word "Tax," treating it like the T word that you don't dare say in politically mixed company.

I know, I know. The Rs will pounce all over anyone who comes out in favor of taxes. Which is why, I guess, Obama lost the Presidency because he advocated raising taxes on people who made over $125,000, or whatever figure he set, and he was vilified as a tax-and-spender. Oh, wait, he won? I guess it's why a Republican, our Accidental Governor, is standing firm on her stand to raise sales taxes, and actually gaining a certain level of respect for having the guts to stand her ground even as she's taking flak from her right flank. And it's why the Star says in its editorials, "Let's get real. We can't balance the budget and provide needed services without raising taxes."

The No Tax Republicans are delusional and dangerous. They believe in the Tax-Cutter Fairy who flies into the bedrooms of good little Republican boys and girls and leaves a few billion dollars under their pillows every time they lose a tooth tax.

But Dems can't drive a stake through the heart of the No Taxers without standing up for the alternative: the need for new Taxes.

The answer, in my opinion, is to tax those who have made out like bandits in this economy, the wealthiest 3%. As soon as your taxable income hits a certain threshold — say, $125,000 for singles, $250,000 for people filing jointly — an increased progressivity should kick in. The people just over the line will pay just a little more than they already do — maybe the cost of dinner at one of those fine restaurants they patronize. The higher the taxable income reaches, the more the tax will go up, meaning the five-cars-and-a-yacht folks may have to think twice about buying another new Mercedes next year.

Of course, we have to be ready for the "class warfare" line.

You bet there's class warfare. It's waged by the wealthy, whose incomes have skyrocketed in the last few decades, against the rest of us whose earnings have remained stagnant or decreased. Their hedge funds and their real estate schemes cost working people their homes, their savings and their livelihoods while those who concocted the schemes reaped government bailouts and huge bonuses. They've won every battle for the last 30 years. Enough is enough.

A higher tax will hurt small business owners?

It'll only hurt those whose personal, taxable income is above $125,000. That's not the mom-and-pop businesses struggling to make payroll. That's the so-called small business owners with substantial businesses who are doing very well, thank you very much, or their owners wouldn't be clearing more than $125,000 in taxable income.

All this sounds like solid populist rhetoric to me. Let the Tea Partiers call us whatever they want. If we think three steps ahead and are ready with responses, we can win the war of words and images while they're forced to bluster in support of the fat cats.

People already vote for local property tax hikes for schools and roads and things like that. We know it takes money to run a city, a county and a state. But property taxes hurt too many people who can't afford them. We need to get together and keep this state afloat by taxing people who can afford it, wealthy people who have received a 33% Arizona tax cut over the last few decades. Yes, their tax rates are 33% lower than they once were, and yet they're crying in their Dom Perignon about the taxes they pay.

I was talking with someone who believes Dems have to show some guts, but he wouldn't buy my argument for making liberal use of the T word. If we get elected on a raise-taxes-on-the-wealthy platform, he said, we can't make good on our promise because of the 2/3 majority vote needed in a Republican majority state legislature. We shouldn't promise what we can't deliver.

I disagree. Don't promise to raise taxes. Promise to bring some sanity back to the legislature. Promise to stand up for children, women, the elderly, the middle class, people on fixed incomes — and the only way to do that without hurting the vast majority of Arizonans is to tax those who can most afford it — and fight until the Rs either come to their senses or Arizona throws the bums out.

Tuesday, Oregon will be voting on raising taxes on people making $125,000 in taxable income, $250,000 for couples. It's hard to get people to vote for raising taxes, even people whose income is a quarter of those who will have to pay, and I've watched Oregonians vote for tax cuts in the past. No matter the outcome, I still believe it's a good campaign issue for Dems if we use the right approach and are ready to counter the slings and arrows of outrageous conservatives. A positive outcome in Oregon will certainly strengthen my belief.