George Will gives me hope

I love George Will, these days, because he says bold and smart-minded things like this:

Mr. Ways and Means

"Ronald Reagan opposed using the tax code 'as a means of achieving changes in our social structure.' [U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles] Rangel -- in his 19th term, a man of House proprieties -- says, 'I don't think the tax code should be a substitute for the appropriations process in making social change.' Social policy should be, he thinks, the province of 'the standing committees.' The question for tax writers 'is not just what is fair and equitable but what is good for the economy.'

Furthermore, Rangel proposes reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 30.5 percent, a rate that still would be higher than the average corporate rate among major industrialized countries. Rangel would entertain arguments for an even lower rate if compensatory revenue could be found.

The rate actually should be zero, for three reasons: Corporate taxation discourages investment by reducing the return on capital; it is a hidden tax passed along to corporations' customers; it is double taxation because corporate earnings are taxed again as dividends. Still, it is heartening that the Democratic chairman of the tax-writing committee favors reducing corporate America's tax burden."

George Will gives me hope that this world has not gone completely mad amidst the progressive zeitgeist.