Washington Post Columnist: America Has Always Redistributed Wealth
Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post says that McCain’s criticisms of Obama on wealth redistribution are just scare mongering because America has always had a “progressive tax code” that redistributes wealth.
McCain’s angry denunciation of socialist wealth-spreading ignores the fact that the country has always had a progressive tax code. McCain himself once seemed to embrace the sensible notion that those who reap greater rewards should contribute more back.
Someone needs a history lesson.
For nearly the first century of its existence this country had no income tax. In 1861 a 3% tax on people making over $800/year was instituted to help fund the Civil War, but it was rescinded in 1872. In 1894 Democrats (go figure) instituted the nation’s first peacetime tax on income with a 2% tax on households making over $4,000/year, but that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co., a ruling specific to taxes on income from property that also made taxes on wages difficult.
It wasn’t until the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 that we got our first real, permanent income tax.
So, to put it bluntly, a redistributionary income tax (“progressive” as the liberals like to put it) didn’t exist until just under 100 years ago. And comparing that tax, which was relatively small in its rates and tax base, to today’s horrendous rates on a narrow cross-section of Americans is just plain absurd.
