In the process of running for office, every politician has to face the unavoidable question: are you going to raise taxes? So of course, as part of her new stint in politics Mary Burke was inevitably forced to answer the pesky tax question with the press. For Democrats like Burke, the question is cause for quite the controversy. The dilemma is to enact their programs. Democrats need a source of more revenue, but no politician wants to support raising taxes, especially a candidate running for election. So how do they say they’re not going to raise taxes when they really plan on doing so? Burke awkwardly answered that she would avoid raising state and local taxes but that she would make no pledge to actually do so.
“I’d want to look at the totality. We collect revenue in a lot of different ways. I certainly wouldn’t look at raising (taxes), but I’d also want to look at it in the context of our finances, our budgets…” Burke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Reading her statement, it’s no wonder that traditional Democratic attempts to answer the tax question have failed to garner them any support. It’s confusing and unspecific. Voters clearly can’t support policies they don’t understand. Nor is there any inspiration that beckons voters to turn out on Election Day. Moreover, the statement is hardly truthful. Democrats know they need more revenue to pursue their policy goals. Thus Democrats shouldn’t try to position themselves as tax relievers. It’s an argument they can’t win. When Republicans make statements like, “Read my lips: no new taxes,” Democrats’ fumbling wordplay is going to be beat. Instead, they should lead the public in a new direction, taking a new approach to campaigning on raising taxes, and they can start by reflecting on the recent trend of right-wing extremism in the Republican Party.
In 2011, Gov. Walker took a meat cleaver to the state budget, recklessly cutting from every program imaginable to provide tax cuts to the wealthy — a $2.3 billion giveaway — to fulfill his 250,000 jobs pledge. To pay for such a massive reduction in revenue, Walker hacked away at education, slashing $2.6 billion from K-12 schools, $250 million from UW System, and divested 30 percent from the technical college system. He removed all state funding from Planned Parenthood, halted healthcare access for thousands of Wisconsinites and eliminated equal pay protections for women relieving big businesses of any regulations. He severely reduced state contributions to local governments, instead giving them the “tools” to balance their budgets on the back of workers by dismantling the rights of public sector unions. And he did this all in the name of his failed attempt to promote Wisconsin’s economy, which is consistently ranked as one of the most dismal in the United States despite his “reforms.” This story isn’t unique to Wisconsin. This story has been seen in Republican-controlled states across the country, like Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. It’s happening on the federal level, too, with Speaker Boehner’s House and the Paul Ryan budget. Democrats across the country can use this trend to their advantage running for election.
When asked if they’re going to raise taxes, Democrats shouldn’t try telling the public they’re not; they should lead them to understand why it’s essential to do so. The answer is yes, we’re going to raise taxes, and here’s why: we are going to restore funding to education, the most essential component to building a 21st century workforce and an economy built to last. We’re going to ensure all have access to healthcare because workers can’t be productive members of the economy unless they’re healthy. We’re going to fight for equal pay for equal work because 40 percent of women are breadwinners for their families. We aren’t going to strip unions of their rights for the sake of the budget because we know that unions negotiate a living wage for workers, who, in turn, spend that money and contribute further to our economy.
We can’t fall into convention. Under the scrutiny of the public eye, we need to start rejecting this ancient, misguided notion that taxes are harmful and tyrannical. We ought not rely on the tactics of our predecessors in the hopes we’ll win if we can avoid this debate. We can’t be pioneers and visionaries if we go where the public tells us to go, for how can we lead if we always follow? To be true leaders, we need to show them the way.
Do you think Democrats need to change the way raising taxes is viewed? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
