Kent Conrad Questions The Patriotism Of Those Opposed To Tax Hikes
Grover Norquist doesn’t want to raise taxes. To Senator Kent Conrad, that means Norquist is unpatriotic.
Conrad on MSNBC defended the Gang of Six deficit plan he is hoping to tie into any debt-ceiling increase. That plan reduces deficits by $3.7 trillion over a decade but raises revenue by more than $1 trillion from closing tax loopholes.
Norquist has said that closing loopholes in a way that raises revenue going into the Treasury is a violation of his Americans for Tax Reform pledge, taken by scores of GOP lawmakers.
“We’re hemorrhaging revenue to offshore tax havens, abusive tax shelters, and Grover Norquist says it violates some pledge if you insist those people pay their fair just like the vast majority of us already do,” Conrad said.
“Shame on you, Grover Norquist. Let’s have some patriotism!” Conrad said.
In response, Norquist accused Conrad of being a scoundrel through a veiled reference.
“Dem Sen. @kentconrad told msnbc it is ‘patriotic ‘to raise taxes on peasantry -Last refuge of a scoundrel Sam Johnson,” he said on Twitter.
I actually think it’s extremely patriotic to pay as little in taxes as possible. Legally, that is. It’s every citizens responsibility to legally reduce their tax burden as much as possible. If Conrad is upset about companies and individuals using tax shelters and tax havens, then maybe that’s an indication that our tax code is far too draconian to begin with.
After all, what’s more patriotic? Try to keep as much of your own income as possible, or taxing the most successful and prosperous Americans out of the country?
Tags: deficits, grover norquist, Kent Conrad, national debt, North Dakota News, Taxes
