Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson Offends the Lefties

I commented on this yesterday, "Golfer Phil Mickelson Speaks Out Against Confiscatory Tax Rates":

And there's more at the Wall Street Journal, "The Mickelson Vote":

California golfer Phil "Lefty" Mickelson says he will no longer publicly criticize the government for taking most of his paycheck. That's a shame. But even if it's now socially unacceptable for high achievers to suggest they should keep the fruits of their labor, that doesn't mean they will keep supplying that labor.

After a brilliant round Sunday at a tournament in La Quinta, California, Mr. Mickelson hinted that new tax burdens might drive him out of the state, out of professional golf, and perhaps even out of the country. "There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state, and it doesn't work for me right now," he said. "So I'm going to have to make some changes."

The fan favorite who has won 40 events on the PGA tour described various state and federal levies and concluded that his tax rate now exceeds 60%. The sticker shock is understandable, now that President Obama has succeeded in raising the top income-tax rate this year to 39.6% from 35% and the top Medicare rate almost a full point to 3.8%. Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown persuaded Californians last fall to raise the top state income tax rate to 13.3%.

Mr. Mickelson was beginning to spark a useful conversation about the way that confiscatory tax rates discourage productive effort. But the critics began to emerge on various websites, and, alas, on Monday night the golfer took a rhetorical mulligan...

RTWT.

And see IBD, "Don't Take Rich Golfers For Granted."