An unlikely source provides the solution to the looming fiscal crisis concerning the funding for pensions for retired Pennsylvania state workers and public school teachers which is expected to cause the tax burden to rise by $1,360 by 2012 for the average resident of the state.
Obviously, the money has been contracted and must be paid. So what to do?
Well the answer is ironically in the Communist Manifesto, the second plank of which calls for a heavy progressive income tax.
It’s simple. It’s beautiful.
Pensions, of course, are not taxed in Pennsylvania so here is how it would work:
–the first $50,000 of a public pension would remain untaxed.
–the next $50,000 would be taxed at 50 percent.
–anything above that would be taxed at 90 percent.
Let’s use the looming $313,000 pension of state Sen. Robert Mellow (D-22) as an example. There would be no tax on the first $50,000 so that means that Sen. Mellow would get $50,000 upon which to survive. He would then pay 50 percent of the next $50,000 back to the state adding $25,000 to yearly income for a total of $75,000. Of the remaining $213,000 he would pay back 90 percent leaving him with an additional $21,300 and an annual income of $96,300.
He could probably survive on that.
Who could object? Certainly not the bulk of pensioners who are retired teachers and consider themselves progressive and fully subscribe to the concept of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
Granted most of our legislators are simply greedy and not full-blown Marxists and would certainly provide an obstacle to reform but certainly not an insurmountable one.
And yes the average taxpayer would still see somewhat of an increase in his burden but a ray of hope has been found.
I think this is a great idea, actually. I’d prefer to see spending cuts, of course, but even Republicans are loathe to do this when they have the opportunity. So, since the Left in this country is so much for soaking the rich, mght as well include the government bureaucrats on that list.