"Tax and spend" is a term used in politics meaning government policy to increase or collect taxes for the purpose of increasing public spending.[1] The term is commonly used as criticism;[2] some have embraced the label.[3][4]

The 1936 United States Supreme Court case United States v. Butler grappled with the question of the constitutionality of tax and spend policy in the United States, with the Court majority concluding that "the power to tax and spend includes the power to relieve a nationwide economic maladjustment by conditional gifts of money"..[5]

History

The term, in the form "taxing and spending", is attested from 1928.[1] It was used, in the form "spend and tax", in the 18 October 1938 edition of The New York Times,[6] in a profile of Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisor Harry Hopkins, the administrator of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a key agency of Roosevelt's New Deal program, written by Arthur Krock, with the subheading "Spend and Tax, [Hopkins'] Motto". The term appeared again in a later 1938 report in The New York Times, written by Krock, quoting Hopkins. He wrote that "[Hopkins] met a criticism of this sinister combination by saying: 'We will spend and spend, and tax and tax, and elect and elect.'"[7] According to Krock, the "sinister combination" was Roosevelt, Hopkins, United States Postmaster General James Farley, and New Jersey Democratic political boss Frank Hague.[7]

Two weeks later, Hopkins and Krock argued the point in duelling letters to the editor of The New York Times. First Hopkins flatly denied he had ever laid out the "tax, spend, elect" formulation, but Krock asserted that "I used and printed the quotation after careful verification because, while it fitted completely into Mr. Hopkins's political philosophy as I have understood it, I wanted to be certain of the language." Krock also revealed that he had spoken with witnesses who claimed to have heard Hopkins make the comment at the Empire Race Track in Yonkers, New York, including a "reputable citizen" who was "in lighter hours, a playmate of Mr. Hopkins".[8]

Use of tax and spend policies

Tax and spend is an umbrella term that can refer to various government policies or programs which raise revenues in order to fund government programs. For example, many local jurisdictions, particularly in the raise revenues for specific programs through financial referendums to voters. Referendums on tax and spend programs often raise revenues in the United States through property or sales tax to fund public education,[9] or public works projects, such as transportation infrastructure, housing,[10] or public safety programs.[11]

Political discourse

Throughout the Great Depression, opponents of Roosevelt's New Deal tax and spend programs criticized the agenda. The 1936 case United States v. Butler ultimately gave Roosevelt authority to tax and spend under the Taxing and Spending Clause of the United States Constitution.[5]

In a 1989 opinion column for The New York Times, then-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Guy Vander Jagt, wrote that "Tax-and-Spend Democrats Never Learn",[12] citing George H. W. Bush's "no new taxes" slogan to critique tax and spend policies advocated by some Democrats. A 2019 article in The Washington Times quotes Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist, as saying that "Democrats used to be scared of [tax and spend], but not anymore", with the author adding that "Democrats are convinced that the Reagan-era epithet 'tax-and-spend liberals' is no longer a candidate killer."[13]

The term is used similarly in the United Kingdom,[14][15] as well as in Australia.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "tax and spend". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ↑ O'Connor, Elieen; Schiavone, Louise. "Republicans Criticize New Spending In Clinton Budget". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. ↑ McLaughlin, Seth. "2020 Democrats embrace 'tax-and-spend liberals' label, expand wish list". The Washington Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Sandbu, Martin. "Tax and spend is the new economic orthodoxy". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 "United States v. Butler". UNITED STATES v. BUTLER et al. Cornell Law. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Krock, Arthur. "In The Nation: The Ubiquity and Influence of Mr. Hopkins". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  7. 1 2 Krock, Arthur. "WIN BACK 10 STATES; Republicans Take Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas and Massachusetts". Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Letters to The Times". The New York Times. November 24, 1938, p. 26. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Arizona Proposition 208, Tax on Incomes Exceeding $250,000 for Teacher Salaries and Schools Initiative (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "City of San Francisco Housing Bond Issue, Proposition A (November 2015)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Olympia, City of. "Public Safety Levy". Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  12. ↑ Vander Jagt, Guy. "Tax-and-Spend Democrats Never Learn". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  13. ↑ McLaughlin, Seth. "2020 Democrats embrace 'tax-and-spend liberals' label, expand wish list". The Washington Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  14. ↑ Elliott, Larry; White, Michael (21 January 1997). "Brown buries the tax and spend image". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Labour to end tax-and-spend - McDonnell". BBC News. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "'Tax and spend' is back". www.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
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