Fun with Taxes

Alan at Idablue has been out with not one but two tax posts. In the first one, he goes after Marv Hagedorn for proposing a state income tax increases. Alan writes:

Hagedorn also said “it’s been proven time and time again” that cutting taxes increases state revenue. No, sorry Marv, just the opposite. You’re offering up supply side economics, just like Reagan and George Bush, and both those guys managed to massively increase the federal deficit without growing the economy. I mean, just look around. Look at the recession we’re in. Bush aggressively cut taxes, and the economy certainly didn’t take off.

The problem that caused the deficits was spending not tax cuts. As to Alan’s statement that the economy didn’t take off because of the tax cuts, um it did. Apparently he’s forgotten that unemployment was under 5% much of President Bush’s second term, the economy enjoyed strong growth until the credit crisis hit.

Alan then goes on to make a doozy of an argument:

I propose a tax on one of our most precious resources; water. Pure and simple, a really tiny tax on each gallon of water consumed that EVERYBODY pays. Those folks making the most money off water, like farmers and industry, would pay the most. Folks like me and you who just drink it and wash with it would pay some, but not a lot.

How about you tax another precious resource, like the air we breathe. Of course, this would have the effect of increasing the cost of doing business in Idaho and make those businesses that remained in the state uncompetitive with a nationwide system and gives those businesses who can leave a good reason to do so.  Love the practical policy from the left. No wonder Keith Allred is running on, “Insert Platform here.”