Do you remember the game of Keep Away? Where two kids stand 10-20 ft apart, and throw the ball to each other at the exclusion of everyone else? Depending on the relative skills, it is possible that the kids in the middle will never get their hands on the ball. Such games should end quickly, because it's no fun for the people who can't get the ball.
In an article today in the Wall Street Journal, Laffer and Scudder raise the point that the target revenue the government is aiming for by jumping the fiscal cliff is about 500 billion dollars. That is a static figure, which amounts to a 3% increase in tax. But as Jack Kemp said "When you tax something, you get less of it". That means lower income overall, and a reduction in growth of the economy. This magic 500 bil looks like a big deal. But it is out of reach. The 500 billion that the taxocrats want to abscond with is unlikely to materialize.
The people (or corporations if you don't mind) with that kind of income are going to transfer it out of the country before it is even made; effectively playing Keep Away with the money. This is money that will benefit other citizens, other governments. Not ours.
This is a game of Keep Away that is being played too close to the cliff.
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