Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Well, Duh! Warren. I have been explaining this for years. The only people who still believe in this nonsense are the cult members of the faith based supply-side "trickle down" economics religion of the GOP – and I suspect many of them question their "faith" in their religio-economic dogma.
GOP Saint Ronnie Reagan's own budget director, David Stockman, recently said "all the Bush tax cuts should be eliminated – even those on the middle class. And he said his own Republican Party has gone too far with its anti-tax religion." Deficits: The Battle Over Taxing The Rich – 60 Minutes – CBS News.
Billionaire Warren Buffett says the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to expire for the richest Americans and that the "trickle down" economic theory hasn't worked. Warren Buffett: 'Trickle Down' Theory Hasn't Worked:
"If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further," Buffett told ABC News in an interview set to air later this week. "But I think that people at the high end — people like myself — should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it."
"The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on," Buffett said in the clip from ABC News' "This Week with Christiane Amanpour."
UPDATE: Forty-seven millionaires pulled together by the Agenda Project are asking Barack Obama to allow the expiration of tax cuts George W. Bush gave them and anyone earning more than $1 million a year. Their web site, Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, includes a letter and a place where other millionaires can sign. Forty-seven. It's a start – around 1/100th of a percent of the total number of Americans whose income was $1 million or more last year. H/t Daily Kos.
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I did ponder your comment. I admit that I don’t make strong points when I bring off topic threads into the discussion. I also too often diverge from the main issue mentioned.
A can’t state that I understand at all well the reasoning you or AzBlueMeanie use. It is quite evident that you both believe that I fail to offer coherent reasoning in my comments. I will continue to try to understand your reasoning. I try to make my reasoning clear and compelling to you and AzBlueMeanie (and the audience).
I am unlikely to ever find an find an article to be agreeable where AzBlueMeanie points out the “support” a poll documents for government program X, Y or Z. Stating that 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or even 99% of a given population approves or support the government imposing taxes and laws on otherwise peaceful people is not a moral argument (I am certain that a high percentage of the public supported slavery 200 years ago which didn’t make a lick of difference in its is immoral nature). If only he could stick with Person X and Y or Companies X and Y have broken the law and should be punished then fine but he has a broken record on the theme of It’s the rich! Tax them! Tax them more! for me to find that theme the least bit compelling.
If he can provide specific examples of malfeasance and misconduct then great, I would love to read about it. Until then he fails to persuade me.
Lastly, there is nothing wrong with being interested in your own well being money-wise (some people call that greed, others do not) so long as the method you have used to obtain money hasn’t involved coercion (such as in the example of privately run but government funded prisons) or fraud. The ethical pursuit of money by Bill Gates has provided the world with a fantastic computer operating system for which hundreds of millions willingly pay for each day. Luckily Mr. Gates is still able to retain a large portion of his earnings to pay for many worthwhile charitable causes, something he and other rich people would not otherwise be able to do. Even if Gates doesn’t persuade Mr. Buffet and their income mates to donate more to charity it isn’t as if 99% of the 2% take ALL their earnings, buy gold coins with it and keep it in a vault where they spend their weekends rolling over their coin piles while they sip on Perrier. Most of them have money invested in various businesses which employ the other 98% of the population.
Warren Buffet apparently has no complaints about where federal tax revenues are spent – I do. As such he should be more than willing to donate to the cause of government.
I haven’t made any donation to pay for the public debt as I believe that until the day arrives when the feds have ended the occupations of all foreign countries then any donation is the same as supporting the US Army and its intrusive security policy when applied to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan which far too often involves what I am sure they term “unfortunate civilian loss of life”.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
If the top 2% isn’t paying enough taxes can you tell me at which level they are paying a fair share? How much of a person’s income needs to be impounded before you will say that is a fair share?
I would posit that regardless of the exact percentage or amount Warren Buffet and his income strata pay in taxes that the amount and percentage is still far too high while the US Army kills innocent civilians on an ongoing basis with money impounded by force from US taxpayers rich and not so rich alike (including Warren Buffet’s secretary).
Why you or AzBlueMeanie or any other person who reads this web site would spend one minute advocating for higher taxes when the US government is spending money on such immoral foreign policy projects is beyond me.
By the way, have you given any thought to my comment from a few weeks ago? Just curious.
Thane, Thane, Thane…you’re so funny! It hurts when I laugh so hard. YOU TOO can help pay down the national debt when you pay your taxes. Have you done that? Do you really think that gizzillionaires are going to fork over their money to the govt? At least he has the balls to call them as he sees them…he knows that trickle down doesn’t work. He’s asking that they pay their fair share, which as of now, they DO NOT!Greed is good, baby. Greed is good.He’s been known to say that his secretary pays more in taxes than he does…that’s nuts!They don’t need a freaking tax cut, and they know it…they take, and we get screwed. It’s the American way…hope that stops right now.
As Chris Wysocki at WyBlog.us recently pointed out there is nothing keeping Warren Buffet from paying more taxes than he is required to.
The US Treasury gladly accepts donations for those people who believe their taxes are too low.
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm
You can pay online!
This is a wonderful option for those who are so inclined. I am sure that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would appreciate some assistance in publicizing this option to the public.
Last year they accepted a touch over $3 million dollars. Perhaps Warren Buffet could donate a million dollars to kick off a publicity campaign?!?