Buffett says the wealthy should contribute to deficit reduction, too #p2 #tcot #teaparty

from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/aug/18/sharing-sacrifice/

It had to unnerve Tea Party Republicans to read an op-ed column in Monday's New York Times by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the world's third-richest person. It had to discomfort them because Buffett made a compelling argument for increasing taxes on the wealthy as a necessary part of the solution toward successful deficit reduction.

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress," Buffett wrote. "It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."

Shared sacrifice, a concept endorsed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, is not new to this country. The concept worked exceptionally well during World War II, when Americans of all incomes accepted the rationing of food and other popular household goods to support the war effort. In his inauguration speech, President John F. Kennedy urged Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Kennedy wasn't asking for shared sacrifice from only lower- or middle-income Americans. He was addressing the entire nation.

Today's congressional Republicans treat shared sacrifice as though it is a relic that belongs in the Smithsonian Institution, not something that should apply to the wealthy. They would like nothing more than to slash entitlement spending on programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, which serve the poor and elderly, without a corresponding sacrifice from the richest citizens. They hold tightly to the belief that raising taxes on the wealthy is an attack on job creators and therefore would add to the nation's unemployment problem.

But Buffett obliterated that shortsighted viewpoint. He wrote that this country gained 40 million jobs from 1980 to 2000, but has since experienced far less job creation despite lower tax rates. Because the tax code benefits the wealthy far more than the working-class wage earner, Buffett last year paid federal taxes on only 17.4 percent of his taxable income. The other 20 people in his office, employees who earn far less than he does, had tax burdens from 33 percent to 41 percent. There is something wrong with that scenario.

That is why Buffett made sense when he recommended that the 12-member congressional supercommittee tasked with reducing the nation's deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years increase tax rates on those making more than $1 million annually to help achieve that goal. The Times reported separately Tuesday that Buffett's recommendation could help generate as much as $500 billion in new revenue over the next decade, about one-third of what would be needed for the supercommittee to satisfy its mission.

If Republicans are truly serious about wanting to help trim the nation's deficit in a way that is fair to all Americans, they would be wise to embrace the concept of shared sacrifice, especially because it has served the nation so well.