Tax Policy
Fair Taxes
In terms of financial well-being, the working and middle class have been in steady decline for fifty years. The suffering is real and not sustainable.
“Taxation according to income is the most effective instrument yet devised to obtain just contribution from those best able to bear it and to avoid placing onerous burdens upon the mass of our people.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Even Henry Ford understood a related problem:
“Paying good wages is not charity at all—it is the best kind of business.”
Henry Ford
Understanding these truths by Ford and FDR are understanding two sides of the same coin. Labor, business and society all benefit when income policy is well crafted. Federal income policy (taxation) today is poorly crafted. Though the economy overall is still strong, the working and middle class are losing confidence and building mountains of debt. In the Affordability section of this website, Larry identifies beneficial programs he supports to relieve lack of affordability. Societally beneficial federal tax policy is also a tool. Federal tax policies which Larry supports include:
- Rescinding Trump’s “beautiful” tax give-away to the rich.
- Enacting fair taxes based on making tax schedule far more progressive including, but not only, reducing to zero federal taxes for Americans with income at or below the poverty line and lowering to not more than 5% federal income taxes for Americans earning income at twice the poverty line.
- Increasing minimum individual and corporate income taxes.
- Sufficiently Funding Social Security & Medicare/Medicaid to assure survival of each for next 3 generations of Americans.
- Increasing Social Security benefits/ abolishing US tax on Social Security.
- Enacting new, higher federal minimum-wage law which reflects significant regional cost-of-living differences.
- Treating federal taxes on investments and wages/salaries equally.
- Identifying and closing individual and corporate income tax dodges.
- Restoring robustness and enforcement ability of IRS.