When you tax something, you get less of it. Democrats know this. That's why the push for taxes on the wealthy and taxes on junk food like soda and chips — they want fewer wealthy people and fewer poor people to be able to afford junk food and snacks. They see taxation as a punitive measure, and it is.
It's also theft, as the libertarian in me has long argued.
And we don't have a taxation problem. Americans pay far too much in taxes as it is. We're taxed on our income, our property, our capital gains. We're taxed when we send $600 to our friend on Venmo, and when we go to the store and purchase groceries or durable goods. When we die, our loved ones have to pay estate taxes.
That money belongs to us and, for years, the government — regardless of political party — has proven itself incapable of being good stewards of our tax dollars. That's never been thrown into sharper relief than right now, as we learn the Somali community in Minnesota has bilked taxpayers of at least $9 billion for fraudulent social services, including Medicare/Medicaid, housing, and daycare programs.
But Democrats believe all our money belongs to them. That's why the supposed party of the working class has decided to stick it to service workers and not honor President Trump's "no tax on tips" plan. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is one such Democrat, saying her state will take money from working-class Americans to feed Democrats' tax-and-spend agenda, which includes plans for a Minnesota-esque universal childcare scheme that's bound to be rife with fraud.
Taxes harm workers, and they harm businesses. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing for a $21-per-employee head tax on businesses in Chicago, hoping the revenue will close the city's massive budget gap. Johnson insists the head tax is not a job killer, saying there's no proof businesses would leave the city if they were forced to fork over thousands of dollars a year for the "privilege" of employing people in one of the most violent, crime-ridden cities in America.
You'll find no bigger proponent of taxing than the socialist from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. Despite the fact that this guy, who was so lazy he was kicked out of a commune, is now rich enough to own three houses, he insists corporate greed — not politicians' greed — is the reason why places like Amazon are looking to replace workers with robots.
So what's Bernie's plan?
More taxes.
Why would corporations like Amazon replace workers with robots? Pretty simple.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 29, 2025
Robots don’t need a wage, health care, time off, sick leave, Social Security, Medicare or unemployment benefits.
Maybe it’s time to tax robots & use the revenue generated to help working families.
Every single thing Bernie lists — wages, health care, time off, sick leave, and other benefits — costs money. Businesses don't operate to lose money; they operate to make it. That's what keeps the doors open and the lights on. Guys like Bernie keep insisting on raising the cost of wages, the cost of health care, and demanding more and more time off for employees. They also keep raising Social Security and Medicare taxes.
That discourages businesses from hiring people and encourages them to find ways to make a profit. If that means automation and mass layoffs, so be it.
And all Sanders' plan will do is encourage Amazon to take its business elsewhere, to foreign nations where governments aren't quite so keen on sticking it to them via exorbitant corporate tax rates.
Instead, here's a wild proposal for Senator Sanders: how about we start lowering taxes? How about we do away with the federal minimum wage and let employers and employees determine the value of their labor? How about we stop making employers foot the bill for every socialist's employment dream and instead make it affordable and cost-effective to do business here in America?
It's a radical notion, but it works. Time and again, when Democrats raise taxes on businesses and billionaires, revenue inevitably drops because those businesses and billionaires have the wherewithal to pick up sticks and move to friendlier places. When taxes are lowered, revenues actually go up because people are drawn to lower-tax areas, businesses grow, and the economy thrives.
But then again, a guy who thinks socialism is the answer doesn't really want a thriving economy. That would bolster the middle class, and the goal of every socialist is to destroy the middle class, so society has two socioeconomic groups: the wealthy (them) and the poor (everyone else), with the latter being reliant on the former for daily living.
This isn't complicated. When you make it more expensive to hire people and run businesses, you get fewer employed people and fewer businesses. When you punish productivity and reward the grift, you get more grift and less productivity.
At some point, Americans are going to have to ask themselves if they want to keep looking to guys like Sanders and trusting that his tax-and-spend schemes will one day work. Sanders sells taxation as compassion for "working families," but it's actually control. It discourages work, discourages economic growth, and funds a government that repeatedly rewards waste, loss, and fraud on massive scales.
The answer isn't taxing robots, tips, or jobs. The answer is letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned money and running a government that governs within its financial means.
