A note from Obama
The President sent me an email this morning. This morning, the President proposed the “Buffett Rule,” which would require those earning more than $1 million a year to pay the same share of their income in taxes as middle-class families do.
This proposal makes sure millionaires and billionaires share the responsibility for reducing the deficit. It would correct, for example, the fact that Warren Buffett’s secretary currently pays taxes at a higher rate than he does.
The other side is already saying it’s “class warfare” — that’s their rhetorical smokescreen for providing millionaires and billionaires special treatment.
As the President said this morning, “This is not class warfare — it’s math.”
The wealthiest Americans don’t need further tax cuts and in many cases aren’t even asking for them. Requiring that they pay their fair share is the only practical way forward. The Republican alternative is to drastically slash education, gut Medicare, let roads and bridges crumble, and privatize Social Security. That’s not the America we believe in — but many in the Republican leadership actually prefer those policies, which explains their refusal to act.
That’s why they’ll say “tax increase” over and over again, trying to muddy the waters and trick ordinary Americans into thinking the Buffett Rule will hurt them. And if we don’t speak out right now, they just might get away with it.