The Wealthy Produce Wealth

To the Editor:

What a tortured state of being Holly Sklar (author of April 30 commentary ‘These tax cuts ain’t for you, honey’) is in. To look upon with envy her fellow man of better means.

She and others with the same such opinion on taxes ought to look more closely at what our federal government spends our money on. Spending on infrastructure is one thing but I’m sure her definition of public services extends well into what I would consider to be charity.

As James Madison said, “[T}he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specific objects. It is not like the states government, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.”

I am not willing to give up my tax cut, and I want to keep more of my money. Ultimately the solution would be a flat income tax. But for now I’ll settle for lowered tax rates on income, capital gains, and dividends. Holly doesn’t understand that when the administration reduced rates on income tax, everyone who had taxable income to report got a tax break. That included me and I’m not going to compare what I got to what people of better means received and Holly shouldn’t either.

Holly and those who wish to repeal the tax cuts are ignorant to the fact that the “wealthy” they envy are this country’s wealth producers and job creators. Let’s not run them out of the country. Let’s hold them accountable for their accounting scandals and force them to run their corporations more ethically.

George Mason said at the Virginia Declaration of Rights, in 1776, “That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”

Our Constitution could not have been ratified if the federal government was allowed to retain the power to collect and disperse vast amounts of money. Reflecting back on those fundamental principles, the Constitution does not give Congress the power to create a Social Security system (although states may). This was detailed so the powers of the various states would not be weakened. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to Joseph Milligan April 6, 1816, “To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”

As Holy Sklar calls on you to make yourselves heard be sure, first that you make “frequent recurrence to fundamental principles” of this nation. Never make commentary about federal taxes without also referring to federal spending. Everyone likes to joke about the waste in government spending but it seems a vast majority are willing to send them even more of our dollars. Benjamin Franklin said, “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will be the end of the republic,” I’m sure he was warning us about people like Holly Sklar.

Linda Villafano

79 Mt Pleasant Road Newtown                                   May 12, 2004