加州发展根基会被富翁税摧毁【英语学习】

知春

A warning about the ‘billionaire tax’ — from 200 years ago

两百年前关于“亿万富翁税”的警告

By Joel Pollak

作者：乔尔·波拉克

Published April 27, 2026. ET

Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, speaks in Los Angeles in February 2026. 2026年2月，佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯在洛杉矶发表讲话。

The “billionaire tax” is a bad socialist idea that is already centuries old.

“亿万富翁税”是一个糟糕的社h主义想法，它其实已经存在了几个世纪。

In fact, the first warning about the tax came 200 years ago from a French traveler — Alexis de Tocqueville.

事实上，早在 200 年前，一位名叫亚历克西·德·托克维尔的法国旅行家就首次发出了关于这项税收的警告。

Tocqueville was fascinated by the United States. He admired its energy and optimism, which he believed France, and Europe, had lost.

托克维尔对美国非常着迷。他钦佩美国的活力和乐观精神，他认为法国和欧洲已经失去了这些品质。

The class warfare, division, and hatred that spread through Europe — along with the ideas of Karl Marx, who was Tocqueville’s contemporary — had not yet reached the U.S.

席卷欧洲的阶级斗争、分裂和仇恨——以及与托克维尔同时代的卡尔·马克思的思想——当时尚未传入美国。

Tocqueville explored the country and wrote a celebrated treatise, Democracy in America, which is still studied today.

托克维尔游历了美国，并撰写了著名的论著《论美国的民主》，至今仍被人们研究。

Tocqueville did more than record his observations about America during what was known as the Era of Good Feelings.

托克维尔不仅记录了他对美国在被称为“美好时代”的时期的观察。

He also developed theories about what made democracy work.

他还提出了关于民主制度运作机制的理论。

He knew that throughout history, the most powerful argument against democracy was that poor people, being greater in number, would vote to seize the property of the rich.

他知道，纵观历史，反对民主的最有力论据是，穷人人数众多，他们会投票夺取富人的财产。

“In the United States,” Tocqueville wrote, “where the poor rule, the rich have always something to fear from the abuse of their power.”

托克维尔写道：“在美国，穷人统治，富人总是担心自己的权力会被滥用。”

Moreover, he knew that democratic government risked financial ruin, because the poor would vote for “extravagant” government spending on themselves.

此外，他知道民主政府有破产的风险 ，因为穷人会投票支持政府在他们身上进行“铺张浪费”的支出。

In “some of the democratic republics of antiquity,” Tocqueville observed, “…the public treasure was exhausted in order to relieve indigent citizens,” as well as for public entertainment.

托克维尔观察到，“在古代的一些民主共和国中，……公共财富被耗尽，用于救济贫困公民”以及公共娱乐。

To avoid anarchy, and economic collapse, Tocqueville proposed two solutions.

为了避免无政府状态和经济崩溃，托克维尔提出了两种解决方案。

First, he argued, democratic societies needed a strong middle class, which owned property, such that “every man shall have something to keep and little to take from others.”

首先，他认为，民主社会需要一个强大的中产阶级，拥有财产，这样“每个人都应该有东西可以保留，而不能从别人那里拿走太多东西”。

A strong middle class would also keep government spending in check: “The extravagance of democracy is less to be dreaded … in proportion as the people acquire a share of property.”

强大的中产阶级也能控制政府支出：“随着人民获得财产份额的增加，民主的铺张浪费就不那么可怕了。”

Second, he said, power could be exercised by representatives of the people, rather than directly the people themselves.

其次，他说，权力可以由人民的代表行使，而不是由人民直接行使。

A republican form of government, in which people elect representatives, could help temper the passions of the majority — at least for a while.

共和政体，即人民选举代表的政体，可以帮助缓和大多数人的激情——至少在一段时间内如此。

Fast-forward to California in 2026.

快进到 2026 年的加利福尼亚 。

The billionaire tax is also being decided by referendum — not by our elected representatives.亿万富翁税也是通过全民公投决定的，而不是由我们选出的代表决定的。

A union representing government workers has gathered signatures to put a “billionaire tax” on the ballot.

代表政府雇员的工会已收集签名，要求将“亿万富翁税”提案提交选民投票。

This isn’t like other taxes. It would seize some of the property of the rich.

这和其他税收不一样。它会没收富人的部分财产。

It is normally the kind of idea that Californians would reject.

通常情况下，加州人会反对这种想法。

We don’t hate the rich. Most of us work for them, admire them, and hope to join them — in Silicon Valley, or in Hollywood.

我们并不憎恨富人。我们大多数人都在为他们工作，钦佩他们，并希望有一天也能成为他们中的一员——无论是在硅谷，还是在好莱坞。

But we have also lost much of our middle class. The burden of taxes and regulations has fallen heaviest on homeowners, small business owners, and professionals.

但我们也失去了大部分中产阶级。税收和监管的负担主要落在房主、小企业主和专业人士身上。

They have been leaving, for at least a decade.

他们离开已经至少十年了。

The billionaire tax is also being decided by referendum — not by our elected representatives, who usually consider tax bills first.

亿万富翁税也是通过全民公投来决定的——而不是由我们选出的代表来决定的，他们通常会先考虑税收法案。

The people as a whole — 99.9% of whom are not billionaires — will decide whether to take the property of the other 0.1%.

全体人民——其中 99.9% 的人都不是亿万富翁——将决定是否夺取另外 0.1% 的人的财产。

That is the scenario Tocqueville warned us to avoid.

这正是托克维尔警告我们要避免的情况。

It leads to instability and conflict. It leads to economic collapse. And that, eventually, leads to tyranny.

它会导致不稳定和冲突，会导致经济崩溃，而最终，这会导致暴政。

Tocqueville wanted America to succeed because he wanted freedom to succeed.

托克维尔希望美国成功，因为他希望自由能够成功。

Yet to make the case for freedom, he had to argue that democracy was not only a fair form of government, but also a more successful one.

然而，为了证明自由的合理性，他不得不论证民主不仅是一种公平的政府形式，而且是一种更成功的政府形式。

California has always been blessed with natural wealth. Gold, oil, rich soils, and abundant sunshine.

加州一直拥有得天独厚的自然资源：黄金、石油、肥沃的土壤和充足的阳光。

But what made California the wealthiest society in the world is a system of laws that protects what we create, earn, and grow.

但使加州成为世界上最富裕的社会的，是其保护我们创造、赚取和发展的一切的法律体系。

It is easy to forget that. A state as beautiful as ours lends itself to dreaming.

我们很容易忘记这一点。像我们这样美丽的地方，很容易让人沉浸于梦想之中。

And we all dream of a world that is fair, and just, and where no one lacks anything.

我们都梦想着一个公平公正的世界，一个没有人会缺乏任何东西的世界。

Yet Tocqueville reminds us that if we abuse our democracy to seize property, we will destroy what makes all Californians more prosperous and free.

然而，托克维尔提醒我们，如果我们滥用民主来攫取财产，我们将摧毁所有加州人更加繁荣和自由的根基。

Joel Pollak is the opinion editor of the California Post.

乔尔·波拉克是《加州邮报》的评论版编辑 。