Edwards' taxes: How high will they go?

Union Leader

Former Sen. John Edwards has had the guts to acknowledge that he not only would "consider" raising taxes if he were elected, but he intends to raise them. How high? Well, on that he's not so clear.

Interviewed on ABC News's "This Week" on Sunday, Edwards said he would not rule out raising taxes even further than he had previously suggested. He left on the table an undefined, open-ended tax hike on the wealthy and a capital gains tax hike.

Though Edwards said he would not raise taxes on the middle class, defining "rich" and "middle class" is not always so easy. Edwards has previously said he would tax "excess profits" and "excess income." "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked Edwards to define the latter term, and he dodged the question.

Any candidate who uses terms such as "excess profits" and "excess income" must believe there are such things and that it is within the powers of politicians and bureaucrats to define them. That is a candidate of whom all Americans should be most wary.