The triumph of taxophobia

Writing in Democracy, Jonathan Chait plumbs American right's aversion to taxes: The conservative movement’s embrace of taxophobia is probably the most important development in American political life over the last three decades. It is the one quality that most distinguishes American conservative elites from conservative elites in other countries. They’re more likely to question climate science, more sanguine about people dying for lack of health insurance, and less xenophobic (which is rather nice). But above all—far above all—they hate taxes. Understanding the American Right is critical for Canadians, because if voters make the mistake of giving Stephen Harper a majority on May...