On the morning of June 14, 2017, James Hodgkinson went to a park and opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a practice for the annual congressional baseball game, injuring 4 and leaving Majority Whip Steve Scalise in critical condition. To many people, this was not surprising because of the polarized climate of political discourse in the United States. According to a 2022 NBC News poll, 80 percent of Americans believe that their opposing political party poses a threat to the country, and if not stopped, will destroy it. Most politicians claim to want to end the divisiveness and bring people together. Many regular Americans are fed up with the division in our country, especially in Washington. We should all want to stop this division from becoming violent.
In light of this polarization, I thought it would be the perfect time to propose a compromise that should unite Americans on one major issue. It turns out Hodgkinson was a strong supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran to be the Democrats’ presidential nominee in the last two elections. His Facebook page was reportedly covered with posts about a major talking point of Senator Sanders and the Democrats: income inequality. For years now, the main strategy of Democrats to win elections has been to divide people into groups and tell one side that they are victims who need to vote for Democrats to fight for them. They divide people into black vs. white, male vs. female, gay vs. straight, and Christian vs. non-Christian, but maybe the biggest division they push is rich vs. poor.
You have probably heard Senator Sanders or other Democrats talk about “the top 1 percent” or how “the rich need to pay their fair share.” Democrats consistently propose that we raise taxes on whoever they deem rich. They want us to keep our progressive tax system, where the percentage of income that you are forced to give the government in taxes goes up as you earn more. Not only that, but they want to raise taxes at an even steeper rate. In fact, the shooter at the baseball practice was shown in a photograph holding a sign that reads “Tax the rich like Congress did for 70 years till Reagan’s Trickle Down. We need 20 brackets – $20 million.”
Republicans often refer to this rhetoric as class warfare. They note that somebody else’s success does not hurt the people on the bottom, and in fact, it helps them. Most Republicans prefer a flat tax system, where everyone pays the same percentage of their income in taxes. This still means that people with higher incomes pay more taxes, but not at a higher, disproportionate rate. A flat tax is without a doubt the most fair tax system. Unfortunately, there is too much opposition by Democrats to get a flat tax system in place.
This is where my compromise comes in. This may even sound like a lopsided win for Democrats at first glance. I propose that as a compromise, we keep the Democrats’ progressive tax rates that we currently have. The current tax brackets range from 10% at the bottom up to 37% at the top. Here is the catch that should unite Americans. We should lock all of the tax brackets together on a sliding scale. By this, I mean that if the top rate is raised by 5%, to 42%, the bottom bracket goes up equally to 15%. If the top rate is lowered to 32%, the bottom rate is lowered to 5%. The result? Every American would now be on the same team.
Many Republicans are going to balk at this idea because it is unfair and a progressive tax system punishes achievement. I agree. As I said, the only fair tax system is a flat tax. Hear me out, though. Think about the results of this compromise. No longer could someone say, “Raise taxes on that guy over there, as long as you don’t raise mine.” Very few people will want to raise your taxes if it also raises theirs. Democrats would not be able to pit people against each other like they always do. At least, not on this issue.
This is, ultimately, the best way to unite Americans. Align their interests. That way, when Democrats fret that Republicans want tax cuts for “the rich,” people will all be happy because that means lower taxes for them too. When Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich, who will support them if that also means raising their taxes? While at first glance this idea might seem unfair, the practical effect would be to unite rich and poor, eliminate tax hikes, and likely end the career of politicians who try to raise taxes.
When Americans are united on a cause, it generally leads to success. This is one of the rare instances that unity can be easily achieved. I do not make a lot of money, but I want to lower your taxes. Do you want to lower mine?
Steve Connally's Brain 