For a Flat Tax
WSJ Opinions Section
Mr. O’Donnell’s complaint seems to be that blue states like Connecticut pay a much higher average tax rate than do red states like Oklahoma, making them carry a disproportionate share of the federal tax burden. If that is so, enacting John Kerry’s proposed tax hike on high-income earners would only have made things worse.
The entire idea of states subsidizing each other seems to bring out the worst in current national politics regarding the budget. Instead of policy designed to maximize common benefit, the budget and appropriations process seems to have devolved into who can bring home the most pork. We reward representatives who can grab the most federal dough by re-electing them.
While I’m not sure how we can fix this, I do think that switching to some kind of consumption tax (Fairtax being a leading candidate) would improve the situation by making the true cost of government spending more obvious. If people saw a hard number everytime they bought something (like 20%) I think the costs of government spending would be further in the forefront of our minds.