Like Pushing a Rock Uphill

On Monday, President Obama proposed a planto lower our national debt by more than $3 trillion over the next 10 years.A very important part of this plan is to ensure millionaires are taxed at least at the same rates as middle-class Americans.

As the President stated:

“So I am ready, I am eager, to work with Democrats and Republicans to reform the tax code to make it simpler, make it fairer, and make America more competitive.  But any reform plan will have to raise revenue to help close our deficit.  That has to be part of the formula.  And any reform should follow another simple principle:  Middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires.  That’s pretty straightforward.  It’s hard to argue against that.  Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett.  There is no justification for it.”

Logical and straightforward, right?

Political Cartoon

Like pushing a rock uphill, Republicans insist on policies that have failed time and time again. (Original image from the Brooklyn Museum)

However, to Republicans, an equitable tax rate for wealthy Americans isn’t so simple.  They argue that closing tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires is “class warfare”.  Many in that party subscribe to the failed idea that the wealthy should pay little or no taxes and that this wealth will “trickle down” to the middle class in the form of jobs and higher wages.
Like Sisyphus, Republicans seem doomed to push a rock uphill by trying mightily to shift wealth and resources up to the rich, only to watch our economy tumble downwards each time they try.As the President said, “this is not class warfare.  It’s math.”

A number of Republican Legislators, including Rep. Michael Burgess from District 26 in Denton County and Kenny Marchant from District 24, have signed a pledge to preserve every tax loophole that exists for millionaires and billionaires.

We believe that asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is reasonable policy, not class warfare.  The American middle class has been hammered relentlessly for decades, and we believe that the time has come to fight for them as hard as the lobbyists and some lawmakers have fought to protect special treatment for billionaires and big corporations.

If you’d like to join us in this fight, please consider making a contribution or volunteering.

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Sep 23, 2011 2 Comments ›› admin

  • TJW

    The only thing American tax payers should be hearing, is that the tax code is being done away with completely! We have been reformed, stimulated and lowered enough! It is time the congress of the United States of America, get back to the Constitution, get their sticky fingers off and out of citizens pay checks, we work for our money, account for every penny we work for so the government can take more money has become truly “taxation without any representation”! And the argument in congress is whether to tax the rich or not!

    The only reason for all the necessary taxation is for all the unnecessary SPENDING being done by our government. Take from the working class and give to the non-working class. Lets make taking from the working class more fair by taking money from the richer so we can give more to the non-working class. And in the mean time put the working class out of work, so we can make more people dependent on the government!

    We need a FAIR TAX for all to pay regardless of the amount of money someone makes or saves. And the government needs to stop spending…..! Get rid of the programs, committees, entitlements, it is not the federal governments responsibility to feed, clothe, house, heal, or dictate which business can or not be in business.

    Lets get back to the balance of the 3 branches of government based on the Constition which is our form of government

    • http://bcfeed.com Brandon Cooper

      Doing away with the tax code completely isn’t going back to the Constitution; it’s going back to the Articles of the Confederation, which was speedily replaced by the Constitution precisely because it didn’t give the federal government enough power to gather revenue (or an army).

      When you say get rid of “programs” and “entitlements”, I assume you mean get rid of veteran’s programs, Medicare, roads, schools, etc., all of which are considered entitlement programs.

      What you’re suggesting is not a “fair tax” (just because it has been coined as a “fair tax” by its creator doesn’t necessarily make it so), it’s nebulous rhetoric peppered with worthless buzzwords with no real substance.
      -BC