To the Journal editor:

The President Trump-led Republican budget deficit (the difference between spending and revenue) for fiscal year 2019 is $984,000,000,000, the highest in 7 years (The Associated Press. “Budget office estimates US deficit just under $1 trillion.” Oct. 7, 2019).

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other mainstream economists have said the government’s fiscal course is not sustainable (Krishan, Nihal. “Federal budget rose to $984B in 2019.” Washington Examiner, Oct. 7, 2019).

How can we raise funds to balance our national budget that promotes justice?

We the people will answer our question by defining, justifying, and applying justice.

Justice is revealed in our history when we progressed from justice for few to justice for all.

In our founding we created justice for the few wealthy white males.

In our history we progressed through our many revolutionary rights movements, including our American Revolution (political rights), Progressive Era (progressive redistributive income tax rights), New Deal (worker rights), civil rights, environmental rights and feminist rights movements, when we created and progressed justice for all.

Based on justice for all, solutions include: 1. All income, inheritance and wealth taxes are progressive (a tax that has a lower rate on lower-income earners and gradually increases to a higher-rate on higher-income earners) and redistributive (a tax that spreads income more equally by taking from those who have the most — millionaires and billionaires — to give to those who have less). 2. Raising our income tax rate for millionaires and billionaires from 37% to 70% (our 1970s rate) (Piketty, Thomas. Capital in the twenty-first century, 2017). 3. Creating an 80% inheritance tax for millionaires and billionaires. 4. Creating an annual 4% wealth tax for millionaires and billionaires. 5. Eliminating tax breaks so millionaires and billionaires cannot avoid paying taxes (Sullivan, Paul. “How loopholes help real estate moguls avoid taxes.” The New York Times, May 10, 2019). 6. Repealing the President Trump-led Republican 2017 tax cuts because they had the most benefits for millionaires and billionaires, had the fewest benefits for working-class families, increased our budget deficit, did not increase economic growth, and did not increase tax revenue (Rieger, J. M. “As that deficit has risen, Trump officials kept saying it would fall.” The Washington Post, September 23, 2019).

We the People declare:

Based on justice for all, raise funds to balance our national budget by increasing taxes on millionaires and billionaires!

GORDON PETERSON

Marquette

Editor’s note: This letter writer should not be confused with Gordon J. Peterson, a retired funeral director who worked many years for Swanson-Lundquist Funeral Home in Marquette.