There’s a new proposal to create a graduated tax rate system in Colorado where the higher your income, the more income taxes you’ll pay. Putting aside the economics for such a system, I want to talk about some of the common arguments against such a tax system I’ve recently read.

“Why should the rich pay more?” There are many variants on this, including the basic idea that the government hasn’t don’t any thing to create wealth, so why should it share in it? I understand the appeal of this position but find it utterly ridiculous.

Society is the greatest invention of humanity. Stable societies enable property and contract laws, ensuring that commerce can be conducted in a predictable way, enabling folks to invest resources. The poor have always had to live hand to mouth, but police forces, court systems, and lawyers are what enable predictability in commerce, a pre-requisite for investment, and investment is what enables significant wealth accumulation. Not to mention that investment flourishes when countries have strong national security forces and investors don’t have to worry day to day whether they will be invaded and have all their investments stolen from them by another country.

In addition to all of the above, a well-educated work-force enables rich investors to hire smarter and more capable employees that build, invent, and do more. A workforce that has good health care enables much more employee productivity.

The rich benefit greatly from a stable society with all of its expenses.

This is why I get so irritated at the nonsense of libertarians who say tAxATiON iS tHEfT. Look, I don’t like paying taxes either and I do it as begrudgingly as anyone else. However, I have seen plenty of countries that don’t have strong institutions that protect commerce and protect the rule of law — and I benefit greatly from our form of government. The ultra rich benefit even more, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for them to pay a bit more to keep the lights on in court rooms, police stations, and military bases.

Finally, I’m a Christian. I’ve heard all my life that Jesus talks about money more than he talks about heaven and hell. But it’s not just Jesus, the whole Bible is full of a repeated theme: God hates when rich people oppress people.

There are zero verses about being transgender, only one about abortion (and it’s not what you think: Numbers 5:21 commanding an abortion), a handful about homosexuality — and hundreds condemning the rich.

But you would have absolutely no idea listening to how most Christians talk about politics. And I am utterly fed up of it.