It punishes those who work

Mr. Burbank’s recent columns in regard to adding an income tax is a reminder that we need to return to the principles that make up the American dream. That dream is an opportunity, and not a promise, nor an outcome, and no country in history allows for the pursuit of this dream more than the United States of America. However, when you burden the producers with the regressive concept that their productivity is to be shared via taxation, then you unfairly hinder that opportunity. An income tax is such a regressive concept that punishes the noblest of citizens who work for a living.

If additional income is the desire of Mr. Burbank, and his like-minded policy seekers, then look at unearned income of millionaires of easy virtue (aka inheritance and capital gains), and those who choose to consume (expand the sales tax to cover the service, and other “exemptions.”) Those are the behaviors that should be taxed, not those earning their way through life. We must have policies that support the opportunity to pursue the American dream. In the meantime, editors, please look for an upgrade in that column space, as there is very little fresh content.

Scott Swanson

Lake Stevens