The major theme that my visual represents is taxation. Conservatives believe that the key to understanding their position on taxation is through the definition of private property. Private property is defined as “material value created from the intellectual and/or physical labor… which may take the form of income, real property, or intellectual property.” (Liberty and Tyranny 76) Therefore, conservatives believe taxation or regulation of private property is thereby unconstitutional because it can “in effect a form of servitude.” This is a very radical view of taxation but conservatives also believe that the federal government should be restricted in its rights to raise revenue to those activities that the Constitution authorizes and no others. My visual represents the distribution of wealth and taxes. The pictures are categorized by 3 social classes; the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor. The size of the picture represents the income and the number of pictures compared to the size represents the amount each class is taxed. Conservatives believe big business and the wealthy class are taxed enough already but when comparing percentages to that of the middle class, the middle class is the highest taxed. As a way of leveling the playing field, a new tax code should be addressed, such as amending the constitution and getting rid of the income tax in favor of a direct consumption tax on all goods, or by establishing a percentage tax on income instead of a stack of papers in which certain people can find loop holes to gain tax benefits and breaks. Radical conservatives believe that if there are no limits on what the federal government can tax/ regulate, then by heavy taxing and regulation, this reduces the value of private property and can be compared to forms of enslavement. I do not believe the wealthy class is taxed enough already. I believe a more fair tax code should be proposed in order to establish equality.
