As expected, the response from my progressive friends to my “Fiscal Armageddon” column today has been: “So, we have to raise taxes. We had much higher taxes in the 1950s, and those were pretty good times. Why don’t we just go back to that?”

I am more open to raising taxes than are most conservatives, though I would prefer to see higher taxes on the middle class; as Charlie points out, that’s how the Europeans fund their welfare states. If you want European-style welfare state, then you should probably fund it like one.

But those who have gotten themselves all excited about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s soak-the-rich tax talk should take a cold shower. It is time to moderate your expectations.