Biden is exactly right

It is time for the wealthy to start acting like the patriots they claim to be.

In a recent town hall style appearance, Biden was asked about what one should say to the very few Americans who might actually see a tax increase from the Obama administration, to which Biden responded "Its time to be patriotic."

Of course, John McSame took this line, twisted it like he does, and ran with it. Suddenly the Republicans have been saying things like: "This is proof they will raise taxes on everyone" (not true, independent investigations into Obama and McCain's tax plans show that middle and lower income tax payers would pay considerably less under Obama's plan), "Biden thinks that the rich are unpatriotic" (like most Republican positions, this only makes any amount of sense when taken severely out of context), and "This is class warfare" (ultimately, those who have more should pay more for many reasons that I will go into later).

It could be argued that taxing the wealthy is bad policy, because they spend the money and create jobs. After all, money you tax away from the rich is money that could have otherwise been cycled through the economy in the forms of purchased goods and services and/or created jobs. However, immense tax cuts that heavily favor the richest Americans has been tried repeatedly by Republican politicians over the years, most recently in the Bush Administration. Tax cuts for the rich did not create jobs, and were not able to prevent the economy from going into a disastrous tailspin. Tax cuts for the rich coupled with deficit spending result in a weak economy, and McSame hasn't given any indiciation that he will do anything different.

One of the core arguments behind a progressive income tax, in which incomes are taxed at progressively higher rates as they increase, is just a matter of basic percentages. 33% of $60k takes away $20k and leaves the individual with only $40k of their own. However, 33% of $600k, while claiming $200k in taxes, still leaves the payer with $400k to keep. Thus, those with higher incomes, even when paying higher percentages, still are left with more than enough money to survive on. Additionally, cost of living hits poor and middle-income earners harder, as a percentage, than the rich. Families making over $200k a year will typically have a larger percentage of their income remaining after taxes and expenses such as rent, utilities and food are subtracted.

Of course, some of this rhetoric of equality can be easily dismissed by some as class warfare, to a point where some have classified this philosophy as being Marxist. But there are other reasons why the rich have a patriotic duty to pay more in taxes. The biggest reason: They benifit from government intervention and protection more than they care to admit. Financial stablity provided by government oversight protects their investments. The US Military protects their intrests and investments as well.

America is a wonderful country, one of the most powerful and prosperous that the world has ever seen. And I can think of no one who has gained more from our economic and political system than the very welathy. All Obama and Biden ask is that they contribute in kind.