Beto O'Rourke Quotes
I think for some, the very wealthiest among us, for corporations, taxes are too low.
O'Rourke, Beto. Democratic Presidential Debate. 2019.
The tax rates on income from working is much higher than on income generated from money which is invested. The reason for this is that the government wants economic growth and lowering the tax rate on investment profits will produce more investment which theoretically creates more jobs and strengthens the economy. However, most workers have no choice about whether they have to work. Lowering their tax rate will not induce them to work more. This not only produces a patently unfair burden on the worker compared to people who have capital to invest—usually among the wealthiest Americans. Another problem is that there are many forms of investment that does not produce any benefit for the United States. Many people invest in overseas banks, non American companies. These we tax at a low rate and all the benefits of the investment go to the foreign country.
Tax Evasion is a felony. Tax avoidance is using legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes. However, as Hightower points out, every time a wealthy individual or corporation legally avoids a tax, the burden to make up for the lost revenue falls on the Middle Class for whom there are few tax loopholes. Also, they cannot afford the high-priced lawyers and accountants to find the schemes to use.
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is an American politician who represented Texas's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. O'Rourke is most notable for his 2018 campaign for U.S. Senate, in which he narrowly lost to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. He sought the 2020 Democratic nomination for U.S. President.
