Taxes Make a Comeback

It’s easy to miss, but according to Michael Tomasky at The Guardian, “a serious debate is actually taking place in this presidential campaign.” The country is discussing taxation and “the concept of the good society” for the first time in years. While it’s nothing new for the Republican to warn that the Democrat will raise your taxes, the counterargument that maybe new taxes aren’t such a bad thing hasn’t been heard in decades. Tomasky flags a recent speech by Michael Dukakis (admittedly, not the Democrats’ ideal adviser), where he points out that a taxpayer is likely to spend a tax rebate paying down credit-card debt or buying goods made in Asia, while governments could spend that same money on infrastructure and fiscal relief here at home. “For the first time in 30 years,” Tomasky writes, “the Democrat appears to be poised to win the argument.”