Re: Income tax and employment

[Harry Veeder <eo200@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The idea behind this thread emerged from my own experience. Recently I
became re-employed after a long period of unemployment. Where I work, every
second Friday is payday. On that day one can hear complaints about the money
the government claims in income tax.

There was nothing intriguing about that. However, one day I heard someone
remark that he used to work more hours per week but stopped putting in the
extra time because he felt the government took too much of his additional
earnings. It occurred to yours truly (who had been struggling to find work)
that unemployment may arise from currently employed people trying to be as
productive as possible. Of course, from an individual's perspective it is
good to be as productive as possible, but this is not necessarily good for
the community as a whole as it might create under employment.

This explanation of under employment is not new, but I think my solution
might be. Most advocates of work sharing propose some sort of enforced time
limitation to ensure full employment. However, I believe work sharing may be
psychologically engineered through a suitable income tax program.

Harry Veeder