Many thanks to the Washington Times for publishing my op-ed about a disturbing new development I wrote about on this blog a few weeks ago: lawsuit taxes. The online version is available here.
There have been some insightful comments by Times readers since the article was published, and I especially like what John Y has to say about the silver lining of lawsuit taxes like the one levied in Detroit this summer:
“When a special tax is levied by fiat, that will get the taxpayers’ attention. Maybe then, the citizenry will see the light and the cost, and give legislators the heat they so richly deserve for coddling up to the lawyers.”
While I’m reluctant to wish lawsuit taxes on anyone else around the country, the old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” certainly seems to apply to lawsuit taxes. We’ll just keep working to make this costly problem a top-of-the-mind issue for our elected leaders.
