From Fox News, a plan to allow people who talk about wanting to pay more in taxes to do so.
Excerpt:
President Obama’s proposed “Buffett Rule”– which would force the wealthiest Americans to pay higher taxes to help cut the nation’s deficits — has met its Republican match.
Republican lawmakers have introduced their own “Buffett Rule” that would allow billionaire investors like Warren Buffett who say they’re not paying enough taxes to voluntarily give more money to the federal government.
Under the legislation, authored by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Rep. John Scalise of Louisiana, taxpayers can donate at least a $1 to the Treasury fund for deficit reduction when they file their federal income tax returns starting next year.
“If individuals like Warren Buffett or President Obama are inclined to donate their own personal money toward paying down the federal government’s debt, they ought to have that right to do so voluntarily,” Thune said. “This bill would make it easier for those wealthy individuals who feel they are currently under-taxed to pay more to the U.S. Treasury above and beyond their current obligations, without raising taxes on America’s job creators.”
The first thing to note is that John Thune is a Biola University graduate. He defeated that leftist jackass Tom Daschle to become Senator in South Dakota.
The second thing to note is that Warren Buffett is a big fat hypocrite, since his company is involved in a massive dispute with the IRS over unpaid taxes.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
This is perfect…and oddly enough, I thought of this very idea the day I heard about the “Buffet Rule”. Make it voluntary. I wonder if Buffet would do it voluntarily, or if he’d only do it if he were forced…
From what you said, Wintery, about the tax dispute, I’m inclined to say he’d do neither…
LikeLike
Third thing is that it’s good theater, but bad lawmaking– because you can already donate to pay down the debt.
I guess making it easier to donate via your tax forms is an OK idea, and that going into that much detail would weaken the theater, but argh….
LikeLike
@ Brandon -You’d be surprised, Warren Buffet just might contribute extra. Leftist may be wrong in their worldview, but they are sincere. In Canada this line already exists in our tax forms and people actually do enter amounts on that line. In reality it will do very little to solve the economic problem, because as Paul Ryan pointed out the other day, even if you confiscated all the wealth of the 1% in America you’d only have enough to run the government for 4 months.
Unfortunately the challenge is getting the left to recognize that there isn’t a limited pie. The argument from them is that the one percent OWNS 42% of the wealth, that the 1% HOLDS the wealth. They’re not keeping wealth. They are creating it!! Why can’t they understand that if the 1% wasn’t there doing what they do that all that wealth would just disapear! They are clawing and fighting and whining and protesting for money that would disappear if they got their way. It reminds me of the conversation between Aslan and Digory at the end of the story the “Magicians Nephew,” by C.S. Lewis when the two are discussing Digory’s plan to heal his dying mother, “Understand, then, that it would have healed her; but not to your joy or hers. The day would have come when both you and she would have looked back and said it would have been better to die in that illness.” As much as the end doesn’t justify the means, the means must also justify the end.
LikeLike
The argument from them is that the one percent OWNS 42% of the wealth, that the 1% HOLDS the wealth. They’re not keeping wealth. They are creating it!!
It’s the same thing as always– envy. They’re just realizing that the income argument is failing, so moving on to the newest raw envy area.
Two identical brothers are given a thousand dollars; one throws a party, one buys the land and supplies to build a house on his own and does so; at the end, one has nothing, the other has $5000 in “wealth,” and… that’s somehow unfair?
Don’t get me started on “wealth” that’s in the form of land– the value of farm land is generally the fact that it is a single large chunk that can be used as it is, you can’t measure out a “dollar’s worth” of it.
LikeLike