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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Victor Davis Hanson
April 25, 2011
President Obama reversed course once again and now wants to raise taxes on the "rich" making above
Obama never distinguishes between the super-rich and the well-off. At one point in justification, the president scoffed, "I don't need another tax cut, Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut."
But Warren Buffett, unlike the building contractor or family dentist, is the world's third-richest man, worth nearly
The rich and the poor are not separated across an impenetrable barrier. The president's
The super-rich pay in taxes a far smaller percentage of their income than do the well-off. An array of blue-chip tax lawyers and Byzantine write-offs -- and paying at the capital gains rates rather than the income tax rates -- allows the Buffetts of the world to praise higher taxes while they connive to pay at lower rates than most others. The
Nearly half of American households pay absolutely nothing in federal income tax. For them, the once-dreaded April 15 tax day is more a welcome time of tax credits, rebates and refunds. In February 2011, American households received more than
Until recently, falling revenue has not been the prime cause of these serial national deficits. In fact, the Treasury took in an all-time high of nearly
If the president wishes to raise revenue, he might first close loopholes. That would ensure that those who owe taxes actually pay them. He could start with his own Cabinet. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who oversees the
So before raising taxes, the president might first urge the super-rich to pay their taxes at the income tax, rather than capital gains, rate. Next, he could remind his own Cabinet officers to pay all the taxes they owe. Then, he should offer to pay more of the first family's costs when they jet to luxury spots like Martha's Vineyard, Costa del Sol or Vail. And finally, he might ask the nearly 50 percent of Americans who now pay no income tax to pay at least 5 percent of their income in federal taxes -- to ensure that they see their government as a taker as well as a giver.
Do all that and we would have more money -- and the president would be less likely to declare, "I don't need another tax cut."
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