support for taxing the rich
Scheve, Kenneth, is a professor of Political Science at Stanford University with research interests in comparative political behavior, international and comparative political economy, and economic policymaking. His co-author, David Stasavage, is a Dean for the Social Sciences Julius Silver Professor, The Wilf Family Department of Politics, NYU. Considering the high academic profile of the authors, they draw unparalleled historical evidence to provide an in-depth account of progressive taxation. The authors indicate that taxing the rich is a fair approach to compensating for the state of unfairly privileging the affluent.
They write, “Political support for taxing the rich is strongest when doing so ensures that the state treats citizens as equals” (4). In this perspective, they argue that taxing the rich is a strategy for a government to promote fairness and respect as entrenched in the concept of democracy. The authors center their debate on the politics of redistribution as the approach to combating income inequality. Scheve and co-author offer a compelling and appropriate analysis of the politics of the social class driven by political and economic theories.
Scheve and Stasavage conclude that taxation should be based on the compensatory approach of taxing the rich. While governments reasoned that unequal taxation in the heyday in the 20th century was due to unequal sacrifice in mass warfare, technological advancement has led to a limited mobilization, making such claim less persuasive today.
This book will provide support for taxing the rich more as an approach to fairness and treating people equally. Thus, it will provide support for the moral stances of imposing higher taxes on the rich because it is based on the premises of ability, equality, and compensation.