Debate Over Tax Increases to End Soon
The left and the right argue relentlessly over the effect of the tax increases on the ultra-wealthy on economic growth. This debate will soon be over if France's Francois Hollande wins the next election on May 6, 2012.
Francois Hollande has promised a new road map for his first year in power. The road map calls for the elimination of tax cuts and a 75% tax on annual incomes over 1 million Euros. In a speech Mr. Hollande made at his headquarters during Sunday's election, he promised to “put Europe back on the path of growth and employment.”
Clearly, Mr. Hollande believes that his plan to tax the ultra-wealthy will create growth in a Western Democratic nation. And in a Western Democratic nation, no government has tried this attack in modern times. Western Democratic countries have lowered taxes to the point that the rich pay very little and the poor pay almost none.
Perhaps he's right, perhaps he's not right. But most Americans would not believe you if you said that lowering taxes on the wealthy spurred growth and employment in this last downturn. Perhaps it's time to try France's alternative lifestyle and follow Mr. Hollande's lead and raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy.
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