PBS's Mark Shields: Today's Low Taxes Are 'Fundamentally Un-American'

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields said Friday that today's low income tax rates are "fundamentally un-American."

Such happened on PBS's "Inside Washington" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MARK SHIELDS, HOST: I assume that the President has a position which Joe Biden represents, and he is going to be confronted to make that known before August 1. I mean, he is playing golf with the Speaker this weekend. I imagine that will come up in those discussions.

But this is the reality, and Evan is absolutely right. You have to have everything on the table. And it has to be, you cannot, Charles says 25 percent spending. That’s in large part because we have two wars and, and in fact the stimulus package. But we got 14 and a half percent in revenues, Charles. That is unsustainable and it’s unacceptable and it’s fundamentally un-American.

Imagine that. People not being taxed more than they currently are is fundamentally un-American.

Would our Founding Fathers agree with Shields's sentiments?

Hardly.

What folks like Franklin, Jefferson, and Madison would say is that almost half of the public not paying taxes while the other half shoulders all the burden is what's un-American.

But liberals like Shields don't see it that way.

For them, taxation is a means to redistribute from those that have to those that don't, a concept our Founding Fathers would have been appalled by.

Of course, one quite imagines Mr. Shields and his accountants do everything in their power to make sure his tax burden is the lowest they can get away with.

I doubt they think that's un-American.