Contrary to urban legend, the US has usually forced socialism on conquered nations. After WWII, the US imposed on the defeated price controls, insane taxes (see below), and reparations. Fortunately for everyone the postwar German and Japanese governments junked the US tax systems:
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(Excerpt from Alan Reynolds' Townhall.com article on the subject)
In Germany, Finance Minister Ludwig Erhard raised the income threshold at which the Occupation's 50 percent tax rate applied from $500 a year to $2,200 on June 22, 1948, and to $5,000 in the following year. The income level at which the occupation's top tax of 95 percent applied was immediately raised from $15,000 to $63,000. The top rate itself was brought to down to 63 percent at $250,000 by 1955 and to 53 percent by 1958. Overtime was even tax-exempt in the early years, which means the marginal tax on extra work was zero.
The occupation of Japan lasted from Aug. 30, 1945, to April 28, 1952. As in Germany, occupation tax rates were brutally punitive, with at top tax rate of 86 percent applying at middling incomes. As soon as the occupation ended, Japan cut taxes in every year but one from 1952 to 1974. The income needed to fall into the 60 percent tax bracket was raised from 300,000 yen in 1949 to 3,000,000 in 1953. A tax on wealth was abolished in the same year. The top tax rate was soon cut to 55 percent, and interest income and capital gains became tax free.
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I have to admit that compared to Marshall Plan-era America, our modern proconsuls are geniuses. So at least the Iraqis aren't living in tax slavery. Too bad the Bush Administration's benevolence doesn't extend to Iowa or Texas.
