OPINION: It's Our Money, Not The Government's

From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.

Are taxes necessary to fund the proper purposes of government. Yes, they are. But should they be used to re-distribute wealth? No.

Unfortunately, wealth re-distribution seems to be the goal when we’re told that some people have more than they need and should be taxed in order to give it to others.

In his latest press conference, President Obama commented that people who have money they don’t need should surrender it to government, which would spend it to give others their college, health care, and other government programs.

This Robin Hood approach seems based on the belief that what we have actually belongs to the government. Whatever we keep after taxes has been re-labelled by Obama as “spending in the tax code.” No, it’s not spending. It’s our after-tax money and doesn’t belong to Uncle Sam.

What we do with our own money is not the government’s business.

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