The Mother of All Tax Hikes: Why we need it

To many, the 4% tax hike being proposed by Rep. Rangel of New York (D) is typical of Democratic politics; coming in and screwing up what the Republicans have done (tax cuts), by raising taxes.

To many, the 4% tax hike that is targeting individuals with incomes above $150,000 ($200,000 for married couples) will ripple throughout the economy by coming down hard on small businesses and crippling the economy.

While as a dependant teenager, who hasn't had to pay taxes (yet), I might not stand in any position to make a claim for supporting the largest tax hike in U.S. history, I do have an opinion. What is getting lost in translation with this bill is that it will be providing a tax cut for 90 million Americans; 90 million that need a tax cut the most.

I wish to point out that those who oppose this tax cut are the wealthy Republicans who fall into this class, which consists of an estimated 10 million Americans. The same Republicans who approved tax cuts in that same tier while raising taxes on Americans who can't afford the additional burden. This at the same time that the national debt has soared to unprecedented levels.

The Americans that will be benefiting from this greatly outweigh those who are going to be specifically targeted. If anything, the wealthy should be willing to pay higher tax rates, perhaps it will give them a feeling of philanthropy by helping the common good.

What angers me more than anything else about this debate is the predominance of the opinion that the wealthy should pay less while the poor carry the burden. Perhaps my ideas are liberal, and yes, they are. I don't like tax raises as much as the next, but unfortunately this country is in a situation that requires a tax raise to fix a number of issues ranging from reducing the federal debt and ensuring that the Baby Boomers have enough money for Social Security.

You decide: do the pros outweigh the cons?