As conservatives and neoliberals continue their subversion of progressive taxation, it's worth remembering words on the subject
by the well-known socialist,
Teddy Roosevelt:
"We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have been gained without
doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community.... The really big fortune, the swollen fortune, by the mere fact of its size, acquires qualities which differentiate it in kind as well as in degree from what is possessed by men of relatively small means. Therefore, I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and … a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion, and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate." -- Theodore Roosevelt, the "New Nationalism" speech, delivered 1910/08/31 at the dedication of the John Brown Memorial Park in Osawatomie, Kansas.
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