Well okay so think about it this way. If the only change in the system, is that your tax rate gets increased, and the extra money that gets collected is thrown

Well okay so think about it this way. If the only change in the system, is that your tax rate gets increased, and the extra money that gets collected is thrown away, and the economy continues on its current trajectory, then what you said makes perfect sense. If the desired goal is "more money in your pocket" then the equation should be money I make - taxes = money in my pocket and assuming we are talking about a guy with a business and not someone taking a salary, the money you make is probably affected by the overall state of the economy. If the action that causes of increasing your taxes also substantially improves the economy, don't you think maybe .. just maybe .. you might make more money overall? What is better? To have a bigger slice of a shrinking pie or to have a smaller slice of a pie thats getting bigger and bigger?