All that bold getting old

Democrats want all of the pie in the sky and will move all of heaven onto earth to get it. And how will they do it? Why, boys and girls, by taxing us, er, only the wealthy that is, that’s how. And if you get your own piece of the pie, why, how can you ever vote for a Republican again? Democrats have been playing the “fair share tax” game for decades, as if the wealthy do not pay the lion’s share of income taxes already in our highly progressive system. Sometimes a fantastic lockbox is part of the game.

All those who follow politics know that this game is catnip for Democrats, a feel-good for their conference. The cry for higher taxes sometimes appears as a wish to punish those better off than themselves, as if envy is not one of the seven deadly sins. Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Her Ladyship Nancy Pelosi and Dancin’ Chuck Schumer, croupiers at the gaming table of American life, can stack the deck for the credulous, to wit, only wealthy folks will be pinched and anyway, even if higher taxes seep into your home, they will provide growth without decreasing personal initiative, freedom and fairness. Democratic gamers believe that, or at least they tell you they really and truly do.

— Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati, Ohio