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Scuba

(53,475 posts)
Tue Mar 6, 2012, 03:45 PM Mar 2012

The best reason for the very rich to be paying a lot more in taxes

http://www.nationofchange.org/best-reason-very-rich-be-paying-lot-more-taxes-1331052108


Whew. A lot of good reasons for the rich to be paying a lot more in taxes. But here's the BEST REASON. The super-rich like to believe their own initiative and creativity have been the primary drivers of growth in technology and science and business and medicine. Some innovative business leaders deserve credit for putting the pieces together on specific initiatives. But the pieces themselves were put together over many years by thousands of less conspicuous people. As Elizabeth Warren said, "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody."

Consider just a simple communications device. The pieces were put together by a procession of chemists, physicists, chip designers, programmers, engineers, production-line workers, market analysts, testers, troubleshooters, etc., etc. They, in turn, couldn't have succeeded without another layer of people providing sustenance and medical support and security and administrative assistance and transportation and office maintenance for the technologists. ALL of them contributed to the final product.

You say a lot of them DID get paid? Well, then, something's wrong, because few of the profits over the last 30 years went to this "middle class" of people to keep them financially secure, and to keep them educated in all the new technologies that are replacing their jobs.

The long-term dependency on the supporting members of society is the best reason for the most fortunate among us to care about everyone else. Sadly, research suggests that wealthy people have less empathy for people unlike themselves, because they no longer have reason to associate with them.

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The best reason for the very rich to be paying a lot more in taxes (Original Post) Scuba Mar 2012 OP
Elite Capitalism Angry Dragon Mar 2012 #1
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