In Defense of Rich Guys

Here’s something you’ll seldom hear: a middle-class guy defending a rich guy’s right to pay less taxes. . . .

I recently read a New Yorker article titled “Soak the Very, Very Rich.” In it James Surowiecki argues that the “super-rich” don’t pay enough in taxes. He thinks LeBron James should pay more in taxes than should LeBron James’ dentist.

He writes that “there’s a yawning chasm between the professional and the plutocratic classes, and the tax system should reflect that. A better tax system would have more brackets, so that the super-rich pay higher rates. (The most obvious bracket to add would be a higher rate at a million dollars a year, but there’s no reason to stop there.) This would make the system fairer, since it would reflect the real stratification among high-income earners. A few extra brackets at the top could also bring in tens of billions of dollars in additional revenue.”

Throughout the article, Surowiecki makes several claims. Here are a few:

1. He argues that higher taxes on the highest income levels would “make the system fairer.”

2. He says we need “tens of billions of dollars in additional revenue.”

3. He talks disapprovingly of the “yawning chasm” between the professional and the plutocratic classes.

4. He states that more tax brackets would “make tax hikes on top earners more popular”

5. He argues this would be “a powerful force for reforming the way we deal with inequality”

6. He says “a sensible tax system should draw more distinctions, not fewer.”

So: fairness, more money for the government to waste, class warfare, pandering to the “working family” (a sham title if there ever was one), eliminating inequality, and again more class warfare.

Am I allowed to call this guy an idiot? Is that too mean? Should I not do that?

Why does he want to punish success? Why does he want to provide equal things, not equal opportunity? Why does he want to steal from LeBron James to give to James’ dentist? Who is HE to decide what’s fair and unequal? How in the world will this make things better? No one ever wins when there’s no incentive to do so.

Maybe that’s the point, huh?

And who are these people? “This year a Quinnipiac poll found overwhelming support, even among Republicans, for a millionaire tax.” Republican socialists. That’s what they are.

Fight real inequality. Protect LeBron James’ wallet. Don’t let the government look at LeBron and Steve Forbes and Bill Gates differently. They deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor as much as I deserve to enjoy mine.

See? A middle-class guy defending a rich guy. Class warfare, indeed.