July 14, 2009 8:37AM 

# Mandate for Taxes? 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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The *New York Times* reports that House Democrats want to raise money for health care with [a $550 billion tax hike](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/health/policy/11health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper) on people who produce the most wealth. The *Times* says,

> the proposal is perhaps the clearest expression yet of the mandate that Democrats believe they won last November, when voters expanded Democratic majorities in Congress and sent Barack Obama to the White House.

If Democrats think they won a mandate for huge tax increases — without talking about them — then 2010 ought to be fun.

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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