In a New York Times op-ed over the weekend, the economist Greg Mankiw, using himself as an example, illustrates how higher taxes on the rich incentivize them to work less, thereby providing fewer services to the non-rich.  The article is a response to the general idea of increasing taxes on the wealthy, in light of the current debate on extending the Bush tax cuts.  It is also applicable to the debate on I-1098 here in Washington.  (Our policy brief on I-1098 is available here.)

Mankiw’s conclusion:

Reasonable people can disagree about whether and how much the government should redistribute income. And, to be sure, the looming budget deficits require hard choices about spending and taxes. But don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that when the government taxes the rich, only the rich bear the burden.

There are a number of reasons to oppose I-1098, including the fact that taxes on high-earners do not only affect the wealthy.