Steve Forbes, Pinko Liberal Commie

Steve Forbes is no fan of progressive taxation — the idea that in a community where all contribute to the commonweal, the better-off should sacrifice more of their income than the poorer folks. Indeed, he published an entire book, entitled Flat Tax Revolution, to the proposition that any burden placed upon the well-to-do should be shared equally by all.

And yet here’s the latest announcement from his eponymous magazine, Forbes:

Other measures to be taken include: suspending 401K matching contribution; salary reductions for anyone making over $100,000, amounting to 10% of the increment over $100,000. Also, employees will have a week long furlough with no pay.

This is taxing the rich! It’s class warfare! Why should those employees earning a six-figure salary be singled out for pay cuts? If you cut their pay, don’t you know that you’re going to reduce their incentive to work hard, and also the incentive for lower-earning employees to aspire to their position? And these are the most productive members of the firm! You’re punishing success! You should be giving the higher-paid employees a pay rise, instead — that will surely boost corporate revenues!

Come on Steve, walk the walk. If the rich can’t be treated equally with the poorer at Forbes, where is the hope for them in this world?

Comments

[Alan Young]

Felix, was the announcement made yesterday? Must be an April Fools joke. :-)

2009 Apr 02 08:12 AM

[Ferdinand E. Banks]

I've been reading Forbes for at least 20 years, and I recommend it to my students as one of the 3 best business publications in the world (along with Fortune and, sometimes, Business Week). I make a point however of never reading anything that Steve Forbes has to say, because there is no more stuncher defender of the plutocracy than Mr Forbes. He does however have a sense of humor, and I doubt if he would go ballistic if called a communist.

2009 Apr 02 09:27 AM

[Alex Filonov]

Six figures is not rich yet. Although your point of view depends on your income...

2009 Apr 02 10:57 AM

[Larrysyr]

More to the point, Steve Forbes' flat tax idea kicked in above a certain level. It included the idea that everyone needs a certain amount to subsist, and above that, the burden should be equally shared.

This proposal sounds consistent with that kind of thinking.

Finally, recent events prove that productivity is not always related to pay. (And vice versa.)

2009 Apr 02 11:01 AM

[Mark Bern]

Larrysyr his the nail on the head. Forbes is being Forbes and I don't think his views or actions are anything even remotely close to communist. He does walk the walk that he preaches. That is more than we can say for environmentalist Pelosi with a her own private, government paid for jet.

2009 Apr 02 01:53 PM