Rep. Louie Gohmert rallied a fawning audience at a Tea Party gathering in South Carolina two weeks ago for his proposal for a massive expansion of federal taxes, a plan based on the right-wing myth that too many Americans lack “skin in the game.”
After calling for a flat tax in order to provide “fairness” the Texas Republican said that the poorest Americans who rely on public programs should pay federal income taxes, even if they are simply returning government transfers.
“What if you’re so poor that the only money you have is what the government gives you? I wondered, isn’t that wasting money, you give it and you take it back?” Gohmert pondered. “No that gives you an investment in the country and we need that.”
