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The wealthy deserve some thanks By Michael C. Guilmette Jr. Originally published on March 5, 2009, in the Connersville News-Examiner. Lately, it would seem private jet-flying CEOs and other well off individuals are the target for scorn and retribution, not surprising given the tough economic times we are currently experiencing.
There is logic to the idea that organizations using taxpayer money shouldn’t be living the high life — eating imported steak costing $100 a pound, flying in expensive entertainment, using dedicated helicopters, etc. — that is, unless you are the president. Now, we realize President Barack Obama is hosting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and state dinners are a traditional part of a state visit. Besides, the political class, it would seem, is exempt from cutting back while the rest of the country is struggling. Then again, the King of England himself used a ration book during World War II, but that was a different time. We now live in a time that dictates while our landed political aristocracy fiddles the night away, the wealthy of this country are more hearing demands they not only pay their fair share, but also pay for every other American’s lifestyles as well. After all, the wealthy can afford it. Or can they? Last week, the president released his $3.55 trillion — yes, trillion with a ‘T’ — budget for 2010, right on the heels of his $800 billion stimulus package and an earmark-laden $400 billion Congressional spending bill. All combined, these packages are either spending or proposing to spend more money than has been spent by the government in U.S. history. How will these bills be paid? Well, the stimulus bill is being kicked down the road for future generations to bear, but Obama’s budget, as he said, will be paid for only by the wealthy. The president said he would first let the Bush tax cuts — the cuts that heralded in more than 50 months of unimpeded economic growth — expire while raising the top tax rates for those making more than $250,000 a year to just a few point shy of half their income. Well good, some may say. It’s about time the wealthy get pinched as well. However, the wealthy are already getting pinched, and pretty hard. In 2005, according to the Internal Revenue Service, the top 10 percent of wage earners in this country paid 70 percent of all income taxes — and the top 1 percent paid two-thirds of that total. That’s only three million people. Still sound like a lot of people? Well, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said, as reported in the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 18, that only 40,000 people — again, 1 percent — pay 50 percent of the tax revenue in a city of 8.2 million. Again, 40,000 may sound like a lot of people, but Bloomberg went on to point out that if higher taxes imposed by the city and state chased away just 10,000 of them, the Big Apple would face a serious budget crisis almost overnight. This model can easily be extended to the nation as a whole with one modification: instead of the wealthy of this nation leaving, there would likely be fewer wealthy people. Not only are confiscatory tax rates looking to go higher and take more of the wealthy’s earnings, but those higher tax rates could serve as a sucker punch to those already supporting the country, giving them a disincentive to earn any more. “Tax the rich, feed the poor, till there are no rich no more,” Ten Years After sang, but this goes back to the same question I posed in an earlier column: when there are no more rich, who is going to feed the poor? Unfortunately, many people believe it will be the government, but that is hardly a desirable prospect. Government handouts come with government strings attached, and while government-assigned public housing for all may sound practical in theory, in practice, residents could be barred from smoking, drinking alcohol, eating trans fats, driving cars or listening to Rush Limbaugh. There’s an adage that says those who benefit the most from a society should pay more in order to support that society, and it appears the president and many others believe our wealthy need to pay more. But they already are paying far more in amount and in percentage than anyone else. Furthermore, the wealthy in this country are not made up of the Paris Hilton-esque idle rich — instead, they are wealthy because they run businesses that provide jobs. Even though the tin foil hat wearers and the anonymous cowards on Web forums would have us believe business is a small, power hungry cabal looking to control the world, the truth is quite different. The Associated Press reported there are more than 20 million small businesses in this country, hardly a small number, and hardly centralized — unlike the government. So, it seems to me that instead of heaping scorn and derision on the wealthy, those who want the rich paying more so the government can provide average quality services to all should be thanking them. In fact, since the wealthy are going to be forced to cut back on the extras and work more, those looking for a handout may even consider mowing a wealthy person’s lawn. It’s only fair, isn’t it? • Guilmette is managing editor of the News-Examiner. He may be contacted at mguilmette@newsexaminer.com. |
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Copyright © 2009, Michael C. Guilmette Jr. |
Each day, there is one story after another ridiculing the wealthy for flying in private jets, remodeling offices or holding extravagant retreats at swanky resorts. Truth be told, these examples have generally revolved around corporations and banks that have taken public protection money.
