Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What’s the fun of “progressive” governance if you can’t use political power to reward friends and punish enemies? A striking feature of the Democrats who now run Washington is that they no longer pretend that the goal of tax policy is simply to fund government. It’s also a vehicle to help themselves and their pals while raising the tax burden on everyone else. A new analysis shows how Beltway swamp dwellers will catch a break even as Americans in the hinterlands brace for crushing new government burdens.

In June this column noted plans by Sen. Bernie Sanders (Socialist, Vt.) to enact trillions of dollars in tax hikes but simultaneously increase the federal deduction for state and local taxes. In other words, while raising various taxes, Mr. Sanders also wants a federal tax cut for rich people who live in places with expensive state and local governments—people like him. Mr. Sanders owns houses in D.C. and Vermont, both of which have some of the heaviest property taxes in the United States.

The planned increase in the federal tax deduction will make it easier for politicians in places like D.C., Vermont, California, New York and New Jersey to maintain high taxes and spending by forcing all U.S. taxpayers to subsidize such policies. Combined with the Biden budget plan to let the Trump tax cuts expire for low-income and middle-income Americans, the Beltway political forecast is for higher taxes in general, along with disproportionate relief for the Democrat donor class.

The great news for the swamp is that the benefits of this new policy will be enjoyed by well-paid lobbyists throughout the Beltway metropolitan area. Garrett Watson at the Tax Foundation uses IRS data to study the geography of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction:

The counties with the highest average SALT deductions claimed per filer are where high median household incomes tend to be along with higher state and local taxes.
A majority of the counties are in the Washington, D.C. metro area, for example, with some of the highest median household incomes in the country. While there may not be as many top earners in these areas as in places like San Francisco County or New York County, these localities tend to have a large number of filers who earn above-average incomes who itemize and deduct SALT.

Mr. Watson finds that a full eight of the 10 counties with the highest average SALT deductions claimed per filer are in the D.C. area, with Virginia’s Loudoun County topping the list. Whatever the Sanders economic plans do to the country, you can bet they will be good for Washington.

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Speaking of State and Local Taxes and the Swamp

The swamp’s official newspaper is mounting an aggressive campaign against Republican Glenn Youngkin, who is calling for tax relief—and not just for his friends—as he runs for governor in Virginia.

But for now, the issue of the day is crime and the Washington Post is attacking Mr. Youngkin with one of its unintentionally humorous “Fact Checker” columns.

For those unfamiliar with the genre, a 2008 story by this column’s most celebrated alumnus explained what was then a rising fad in the media industry:

The “fact check” is opinion journalism or criticism, masquerading as straight news. The object is not merely to report facts but to pass a judgment. The Washington Post’s Fact Checker blog ends each assessment with between one and four “Pinocchios,” just like movie reviewers giving out stars.
Like movie reviewing, the “fact check” is a highly subjective process. If a politician makes a statement that is flatly false, it does not need to be “fact checked.” The facts themselves are sufficient. “Fact checks” end up dealing in murkier areas of context and emphasis, making it very easy for the journalist to make up standards as he goes along, applying them more rigorously to the candidate he disfavors (which usually means the Republican).

Thirteen years later, the Post is still carrying on this masquerade. The newspaper’s Salvador Rizzo does his level best to put a positive spin on the fact that rape and murder rates increased significantly when Democrat Terry McAuliffe served as governor of Virginia. After quoting Mr. Youngkin’s comments noting the rise in the murder rate during that era and the fact that the rape rate went up every year of the McAuliffe governorship, the Postie writes:

Both of Youngkin’s claims are technically accurate but missing context, showing how a carefully scripted talking point can obscure the overall crime situation in a state.

Mr. Rizzo then proceeds with his argument that while such violent crimes were indeed rising in Virginia during the McAuliffe years, crime rates in the state still weren’t as bad as in many other states. The “Fact Checker” then absurdly concludes:

For giving half the picture, Youngkin earns Two Pinocchios.

Are we to believe that Mr. Youngkin is being dishonest when he declines to parrot his opponent’s talking points? Readers can decide what the Post has earned for continuing this farce. Perhaps the paper should just strive to be technically accurate.

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James Freeman is the co-author of “The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival.”

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(Teresa Vozzo helps compile Best of the Web.)

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