blue moon moment: i defend bernie

First, a disclaimer: I'm not exactly a fan of Bernie Sanders -- if the Democratic Party nominates him next year I will probably vote against him. And one of the things I don't like about him is his call for higher taxes.

But the criticism he's facing here is wrong.

This is an argument I've seen many times -- "If you think taxes should be higher, you're free to pay more."

Suppose you and I -- and maybe another friend -- are going to play Monopoly. I suggest that, since the game takes too long we should make it go quicker by changing the rules. Instead of starting with $1500, we should each start with $750. The reasonable responses are to agree to the lower starting amount or to argue for sticking to the $1500 prescribed in the rules. It's unreasonable to tell me to start with $750 while everyone else starts with $1500.

Looked at another way, it's not inconsistent for Sanders to advocate for higher taxes and to be willing to pay higher taxes in the context of everyone paying higher taxes, but to not be willing to pay higher taxes while no one else does. He can believe that higher taxes for everyone will provide government with the money it needs for programs that he believes in, while knowing that higher taxes for him alone will do nothing.

Of course, Sanders did himself no favors in his response. His interlocutor said that "you can volunteer," he answered "well, you can volunteer too." That wasn't wise, since her simple response is that she's not advocating for higher taxes. He should have been better-prepared to explain that his paying higher taxes only matters if he's not alone.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not generally in favor of raising taxes. But there are better arguments against Sanders' proposals than "why don't you pay them."