Spanking the Koched Up Redubyacans

Every once in a while I do an Internet search for billionaires who support raising taxes on the rich. Of course there is Warren Buffett who has been vocal on this, but he seems to be valiantly leading this fight on his own. The other "celebrinaires" have not been as forceful. 


It's not that Warren Buffett has no Wall Street cred. When he speaks about money, people do listen, but there is still power in numbers. It has thus far been Buffett against the Redubyacans* who form this human shield around those who are already the most invulnerable among us. The Redubyacan response Buffett's call for tax fairness is to refer to him as a socialist. The word socialist is supposed to make people shudder and send them into fits of anti-Buffett hysteria. Sadly, this tactic only works on other Redubyacans. The majority of Americans support rolling back the Dubya tax cuts for the rich. Still, it would further validate Buffett's point if he were to be joined by just one more billionaire.


As it turns out there is a handful of these people who have backed Buffett. The only difference is that Buffett has been more consistently vociferous on the subject, recently writing an NYT op-ed (Stop Coddling the Super-Rich). Here is a collection of what these wealthy people have said on the record regarding the ridiculousness of the current tax code:
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/12/14/You-Said-It-But-Will-You-Do-It.aspx#page1

One of these men is Ace Greenberg, the former head of the defunct Bear Stearns. Below is a video of Greenberg sitting down with Fox Business' Neil Cavuto who fawns all over his guest, but still challenges him with whispers of stupid arguments such as "is the American government a commodity worthy of increased investment." At least that is how I understood the question. Anyway, it's satisfying to watch a person who knows money school a Redubyacan like Cavuto who has only spent his career talking about it. 
*Redubyacan - A Republican who continues to espouse the failed economic policies of George W. Bush.

No comments:

Post a Comment