Emerson: Obama tax plan will penalize veterans, widows, and orphans

All right. Now I have heard it all. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo,in her latest report, sings the praises of low taxes and criticizes President Obama's tax plan, saying it would penalize veterans, widows and orphans. Actually, Congresswoman Emerson is trying to make the point that if you do anything to make the wealthy pay more, it is everyone else who will end up paying.

Low taxes are good for the economy. That thinking has dominated fiscally-conservative policy for decades. When the government takes less money from the private sector (from employers, families and public institutions), more money goes toward economic activity in our own communities.

Conversely, every extra dollar that goes to the federal government is subject to the forces of bureaucracy. There are concrete buildings in Washington, DC, filled with people who think they know how to spend our money better than we do. In an economic climate marked by enormous and still-growing national debt, the pressure to cut federal spending is understandable.

President Obama’s new proposal for reducing the nation’s debt includes $1.5 trillion in new taxes. Many of these ideas have been tried before, but the debate over taxes has changed. Let one thing be clear: the president does not want to raise taxes to save money for the federal government; he wants to raise taxes to pay for new federal spending.

Depicting the new taxes as applying only to the multi-billionaires of the nation is only halfway honest. These taxes, like many regulations being implemented by the federal government through the health care law, the EPA, and other federal agencies, are targeted at American employers. They are disincentives for new hiring and attempts to stifle productivity. They punish investment in America in favor of a way to stimulate government spending in America. It sounds harsh because the reality of these taxes is harsh.

Yet the Obama tax plan doesn’t just target the wealthy. It will affect the American middle class in numerous ways, some of which you’ll notice and some which aren’t so obvious.

The president’s plan raises fees on private corporate jets. I don’t have a problem with that. But the president also would double security fees on every American air traveler, then triple them by 2017. The family vacation you’ve been saving up for will cost a little more.

Buying a house or refinancing? The president’s plan adds fees there, too, if your loan will be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (meaning low-and moderately-priced homes like we have in the Heartland). Plan on $15 per month in additional payments, according to the Obama administration.

Under Obama’s proposal, “wealthy” veterans can expect to pay more for their health care, middle-class federal workers and postal employees will have three times more money deducted from their paychecks for their pension contributions, and new fees on U.S. energy exploration would provide Americans with yet another reason to import energy supplies rather than develop them at home.

Congress should reject the president’s plan. Job one for our nation’s leaders is to get our economy back on track. Job two is to bring affordability, accountability and efficiency to government. Higher taxes will make accomplishing these goals more difficult in many respects. Let’s focus on where government can do the most good: taking less from the earnings of working Americans and getting out of the way of the innovation that can restore our economy to greatness.