"Raise my taxes." That's the crux of Warren Buffett's message in his New York Times op-ed piece, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich," published Monday. Concerned that mega-wealthy investors like himself aren't paying their fair share of taxes, Buffett writes, "While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks." He suggests an immediate raise in taxes for those earning more than $1 million — including income, dividends, and capital gains from investments — with an additional hike for those earning more than $10 million. Should politicians take heed?
Listen up, Washington: "When the poster-boy for a free market system pens a thoughtful op-ed" that argues for increasing the taxes on the super-rich, says Colby Hall at Mediaite, "pundits, politicians, and the 'people' should most certainly take note." Even though many lower or middle class voters oppose all tax hikes, even for the rich, that may be because they deludedly "consider themselves to be unrealized or unlucky millionaires."
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