In her March 22 letter concerning Michael Solon's "The Revenue Deficit From Progressive Tax Rates" (op-ed, March 20), Sara Stevenson confuses hard-working Americans with productive individuals.
The difference between the two is best illustrated by comparing two individuals, each of whom owns a ditch-digging business.
Ditch digger A uses only a pick and shovel. I can attest from personal experience that he is truly hard working. But is he productive? Does he create jobs? No.
Ditch digger B takes a different approach—he uses a backhoe. He will dig that same ditch in a tiny fraction of the time it took for the pick-and-shovel worker, and he's now free to go dig another ditch for someone else and so on throughout the day. At day's end, who has "produced" more ditches? The answer is obvious.
Soon digger B won't only be digging ditches but also foundations for homes and holes for swimming pools. His business will grow and he will have to hire more workers and purchase more backhoes. Because he's productive, he has grown his business, created jobs and raised everyone's standard of living.
What made all this possible? Capital. Somewhere, somebody took a risk and provided the capital to purchase that first backhoe. Capital is the lifeblood of productivity and because it is, it should be taxed at the lowest rates possible or, ideally, not at all.
J. Michael Hanselman
Sterling, Va.
