What is a liberal Part 2. The Great Experiment

What is a liberal Part 2.

The Great Experiment

In a recent blog I gave my definition of a “liberal” as someone who is willing to discuss the problems we share in an effort to find mutually compatible solutions. This requires that everybody make the effort, at least to talk honestly, and to share the burden of providing clean water, streets, highways; and do the research required to learn how to protect ourselves against floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, disease and meteorites.

I asked myself how can I convince conservatives that they have nothing to lose, and much to gain, by discussing some “liberal” ideas?

The answer was clear – I should start by discussing a conservative idea. Surely there is some conservative idea that makes enough sense so that everybody would agree. And, if the idea made sense I could even end up by agreeing with it!

At that time the conservatives were attempting to sell an idea they called the “fair tax.” It is simply the sales tax. Liberals didn’t like it because they say that it is regressive. That is, poor people pay a larger percentage of their income in necessities, so they will pay a larger percentage of their income in tax.

On the other hand, perhaps people should pay for what they take away from the economy. How do you take something out of the economy? By buying it! An income tax taxes labor and capital, These are the tools that create wealth. Taxing them seems like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. A consumption tax taxes the things people want to buy, Perhaps that is the way to go. When you buy a house you are taking it out of the system. That raises the price everybody else has to pay for houses.

Well, it occurred to me that a sales tax need not be regressive. If people receive a rebate of the tax they would have to pay for necessities than people who bought only necessities would pay zero tax.

“Aha,” I thought I will point this out to all my friends and the liberals will surely see that I am right and perhaps we will all proceed to consider how other conservative ideas can be made palatable to liberals and vice versa. Yes! A sales tax makes more sense than an income tax.

But it didn’t work out that way.

First – a short time later, Mike Gravel, a Democratic candidate for president in 2008 described exactly the same idea during a debate. I thought – “good” “Now the Democrats will show how they can recognize a good idea and work for it. Unfortunately they let me down. The other candidates (and everybody else I might add) ignored Mike Gravel.

Deeply disappointed I decided to talk to my friends about this. I would explain why the sales tax need not be regressive and the liberals and conservatives would all understand and begin cooperating.

I suppose I don’t really need to tell you. It didn’t work out like that. I explained the idea and they all listened quietly. Then the liberals got up, one after the other, and explained that they couldn’t support a sales tax because it is regressive. The conservatives said nothing. One person in the group did say that he sup[ported my idea – but I think he is a conservative.

But maybe not all is lost. In the recent debate between the Republican presidential wannabes former Governor Gary Johnson (NM) and African-American businessman Herman Cain gave strong support to replacing the income tax and payroll tax with a broad-based consumption tax (the Fair Tax) that has a "prebate" to assist lower income people with the purchase of essential goods.

Maybe common sense will have to spring from the Republicans. If we can just get them off their favorite hot topics.