George Bush Is An Asshole

Why tax the rich, when they're just going to cheat anyway? What a fool's errand that is!

President Bush claimed yesterday that rolling back tax cuts for those earning over $200,000 per year is unnecessary because "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway." Rather than suggesting ways to close tax loopholes, increase penalties for tax cheaters, beef-up IRS enforcement, and make the tax system more progressive, President Bush blithely accepts a world where the "really rich" swindle the system while everyone else picks up the tab for important government services.

So how would Bush pay for his wars? Easy. He'll tax the people whose kids go get killed. That's elegant simplicity, wouldn't you say?

What sort of tax would that be? Why, a national sales tax, of course!

President Bush (news - web sites) said on Tuesday that abolishing the U.S. income tax system and replacing it with a national sales tax was an idea worth considering.

"It's an interesting idea," Bush told an "Ask President Bush" campaign forum here. "You know, I'm not exactly sure how big the national sales tax is going to have to be, but it's the kind of interesting idea that we ought to explore seriously."

Republican economists who speak regularly to the White House have said that the Bush campaign has been mulling the idea of an overhaul of the tax code as part of an agenda for a second term should Bush win reelection.

Some lawmakers have floated ideas of simplifying the tax code by putting in place a "flat" income tax rate or a national sales tax. But those ideas have so far not gained much traction in Congress. Opponents say such a system would not be in the best interests of the poor and the middle class who would pay the same tax rate as the wealthy even though they have less disposable income.

I realize that some of this is simply election-year posturing--the IRS is a favorite campaign bogeyman--but if we've learned anything over the last four years, it should be that George Bush will stop at nothing to destroy America. Abolishing progressive taxation seems like it fits nicely into that scheme.