1 The article mentions that these folks can make as big a check to the United States Treasury as they wish without fear of having it returned (hah), but as always with liberals, the idea is to expend money and effort to force everyone else to do what the liberals won't even willingly do now.

Yup.  Put your money where your mouth is, assholes.

2
Bizarro Universe, we live in it.

3 This is the kind of thinking that perpetuates the idea that after one man makes a million it only takes one generation of his heirs to waste it. 

4 There are 2 kinds of people who support liberal policies:

1) those that are so poor the government gives them free stuff; and

2) those that are so wealthy they are immune to the consequences

5 "We're calling on other wealthy taxpayers to join us," said paper-mill heir Mike Lapham, "to send the message to Congress and President Obama that it's time to roll back the tax cuts on upper-income taxpayers."

It always bears repeating that these gits can always send more.

You, super wealthy lady. Your self-flagellation is not admirable. It's alarming and counterproductive.

And it's self-righteous bullshit.  But everybody (well, most everybody) here knows that.

6 See, what I don't understand is why Bill Gates and Warren Buffet gave all those billions to a charitable foundation, rather than simply giving it to the all-knowing, always-beneficent Federal government.  Unless they actually think they know better than the Federal government how to help people in need?  Naaaaaah, that can't possibly be it.

7 Wonder how much extra $$$ these trust fund bitches pay in taxes???

8 Rather than pay more taxes, how about giving your money to charity and let private individuals and organizations that do better work than governments can or will do?

9 Hey Eric, you can send as much money as you like to the gummint.  You douchebag.

10 Let me write a big check right this minute........wait........I ALREADY DO! I believe that liberals are happy enough with the NANNY doing the doling out. However, when we make our own individual decision about how to help others, give the money ourselves, well then...we actually ahve made an investment we feel a part of. Libs don't want to get their hands dirty by actually participating in the help they claim others need.

11 8 Rather than pay more taxes, how about giving your money to charity and let private individuals and organizations that do better work than governments can or will do?

It doesn't make sense.  It's like these rich people just want to use the gov't machinery to feel better about their "sin" of wealth.

12 also, behold the birth of a meme.

Obama pledged not to raise taxes on those making under 250K
His disastrous budget deficits cannot stand; only new taxes can close the gap
Therefore, the Democrats will suddenly get behind tax increases for the good of the country (that Bush ran into the ground yada yada yada)

13 I'd like to know what tax shelters these dweebs are in, like Buffet with his muni bonds.

14 Hey, Eric and Mike, I would love to have some of your money.  Send it my way bro!  We can cut out the middle man and you can sleep soundly knowing that the millions you give me helped send dozens of hookers to college.

15 This article is an April Fool's piece, right?

16 Yes thats the ticket. You super rich people send money to me...er...I mean to the Tax office.* *Note: Tax Office has been relocated, so make all checks payable to E. Steadham. For tax purposes of course. What are you waiting for? Send it now! For the children's sake!!!!

17 15 This article is an April Fool's piece, right?

FIFY.

18 Uh, Vic, my anecdotal evidence shows that it takes about 3 generations to squander the wealth accumulated by the original entrepreneur.  Usually, the 1st generation maintains it (he knows how hard his father worked in gaining the wealth), the 2nd generation feels entitled to it and begins making dumb decisions and over leverages the wealth, and the 3rd generation puts the final nail in the coffin.

19

"We're calling on other wealthy taxpayers to join us," said paper-mill heir Mike Lapham, "to send the message to Congress and President Obama that it's time to roll back the tax cuts on upper-income taxpayers."

I bet if Granddaddy Lapham had known what Mikey was going to grow up to be, he'd have left his entire fortune to charity.

20 I know. If you read the article, you'll see they are trying to manufacture a 'grassroots' movement among the wealthy from a pathetically small sample.

21

Problem is not their tax rates... but the way the Congress has jerrymandered the system to PROTECT them from taxes.

The Banking industry has Lobbysists, who do nothing but work on Congress to protect the rich... because the rich can afford to buy access to Politicians.

Consumption (flat sales tax) fixes this...

22 @6 The curious thing is, Warren Buffett (and probably Gates, too) has said basically the same thing: "I don't pay enough taxes." It's hypocritical, because he's giving his money to charity, instead of the govt. And it's stupid, because he - better than anyone - probably knows that if he wants to get the most "bang for his buck", as far as societal benefits, the last thing he should do is allow the govt anywhere near his money.  And that's without even figuring in the soul-destroying effect of socialism (which is all the extra money could possibly buy).

23 I am halfway through Atlas Shrugged.

I am becoming more frightened by the page, especially when these asshats seem to take their talking points straight out of it.

24 What a bizarre impulse to presume that, because I can afford to pay higher taxes, than everyone else in my income bracket should pay higher taxes, too.

I have to admit it's difficult to understand that kind of hive mentality.  If I had extra money to give away, I'd just give it away, not advocate that someone with a gun force you do it, too.

25 As much as I loathe the concept of an Inheritance Tax, these douchegobblers make me reconsider it. Well, them and Paris Hilton.

26 Hey, idiot, you know why your tax rate is so low?  Because your relatives thought ahead and arranged their money so you don't have any income.

Want to give back?  Give.  The.  Fucking.  Money.  Away. 

27 ..They are among 50 families with net assets of more than $1 million to take a "tax fairness" pledge -- donating the amount they saved from Bush tax cuts to organizations fighting for the repeal of the Bush tax cuts.

Assholes, indeed.  Not even enough courage to just sen the difference in to the Feds.

28
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a few comments on my observations on how the benevolent communists of Cambridge treat the bums on their fair streets. Let's just say the bums possess the power of invisibility to progressives.

29 Assholes, indeed.  Not even enough courage to just sen the difference in to the Feds.

Or a homeless shelter.  Or a food bank.  Or paying medical bills for kids.  etc etc etc

30 If they are going to pursue a national VAT, then they as sure as hell better find a way to go after the 50% of the losers that pay no federal income tax and leave the rest of us alone.

31 These clowns have been around for a while.  It takes Dana Milbank to breathe life into their corpse.

Nice work Bonesman.

http://wealthforcommongood.org/

32 25  Yup, the hypocrisy at work here is infuriating.  Buffet, Gates, and these trust-fund douchenozzels quoted here all have small armies of accountants and lobbyists making sure they pay as little tax as possible, all while advocating much high taxes for the rest of us. 

33 donating the amount they saved from Bush tax cuts to organizations fighting for the repeal of the Bush tax cuts.

I wonder if they claim the deduction for that charitable contribution on their taxes. Hmmm

34 This is basically what I consider to be a Rockefeller Republican.

They urge you to raise their taxes so the government can grow so they only have to control the government rather than millions of people to protect their wealth.

35 #18, that was exactly what Andrew Carnegie said. "Shirt sleeves back to shirt sleeves in three generations."

36 Only self-righteous assholes, who've NEVER WORKED at day in their lives will prattle on like this.  Typical limousine liberals.  Either too fucking stupid or lazy to pick up a pen and write a check.  My heart bleeds for them.

37 *IF* they believe they're being taxed too little, how about writing a bigger check to the govt? Or doing something that generates income, like say... work? Maybe cash in some of that stock and pay the capital gains tax... and if you're really that wealthy, maybe take money out of the 401k before retirement and pay the taxes on that? And most of all, voluntarly and unilaterally, stop moving your money offshore into tax havens...

that is *IF* you believe you're being taxed to little.

But somehow I don't think that's what they're after here.

38 The most annoying thing about these idiots is that, in their shallow self-righteousness, they want to use their own fake altruism as a tool to force others with similar wealth to "sacrifice" what they own. 

39 Look, some journalist found a few Prada Populists, Limo Liberals, Mastercard Marxists, etc. to support their next storyline...time for taxes...taxes are good... The truth is that if trust-fund Tom wants to give it all away, then do it. Most rich people try to make their money work. Plus, um, there's this economist named Laffer who said high taxes are bad.

40 Obama pledged not to raise taxes on those making under 250K
His disastrous budget deficits cannot stand; only new taxes can close the gap
Therefore, the Democrats will suddenly get behind tax increases for the good of the country (that Bush ran into the ground yada yada yada)

And what will they coalesce behind?  A VAT, which is gonna be paid by all those little people who already pay more taxes than these douchebags.

41 They're not really saying that THEY pay too little in taxes.

They're saying EVERYONE ELSE pays too little in taxes.

42 Oregon has a couple of these rich jerks, who either: 1) Inherited their money or 2) Are married to rich men They love to write op-ed pieces for the local paper and testify before the state legislature on why taxes on "the rich" should go up.

43

So, if I just stole his damn money, he wouldn't mind?

I suspect chemicals are involved here.

44

This is pointless (although yes, these knotheads have been around a while).

The wealthy don't have enough money to fund this multigazillion dollar government gone wild.

So they'll go where the money is.

Hint: it ain't (collectively) the super-rich.

45 why not use some to start a business and employ people like the cursed plutocrat grandfathers that actually earned the money.

46 41 - it's a typical Massachusetts response.  I've posted this before, but it seems appropriate, so here it is again:

http://tinyurl.com/yzbg2sr

FYI, we have a two-tier tax rate here ( 5.3%/5.85 % ), with the lower rate mandatory, and the upper rate voluntary.  Very few pay the "voluntary" higher rate, despite all the whinging about how we need the revenue.  It's always someone else who should pay.  So Howie Carr checks the numbers for us.

47

At this point, I challenge every single one of these lying idiots to contribute every cent they make over $50k per year to the government.

Not a one of them will do it. Not a one.

48 "...But the millionaires say they see the beginning of a grass-roots movement of the angry under-taxed wealthy."

So many layers of stupid in that perspective yet so little drywall to contain it...

49

Not long ago, someone revisited an old program that allowed individuals to send their contributions to help pay down the debt.  This was done decades ago.

IIRC they program had amased the princely sun of $16,000.

50 I wonder if libs like Osama and John Kerry voluntarily paid the higher tax rate when they condemned "tax cuts for the rich"

51

"Consumption (flat sales tax) fixes this..."

Not for the wealthy.  Their purchases barely dent their capital gains.  There's lots left over for capital growth. 

52

Hint: it ain't (collectively) the super-rich.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at April 07, 2010 05:48 PM (WvXvd)

So, he's actively involved in propagnada?

53 I wonder how many of these trust fund idiots would even be able to give money away: don't you think that the people who actually made the money saw to it that the idiot heirs couldn't squander the money on gold plated yachts and mink spats (as Iowahawk phrased it)?

54 How about a GIANT FUCKING CLAWBACK TAX for guys like this.  I'm not just talking about 100% on income.  I'm talking about 98% on any accumulated wealth received through inheritance.  That'll be their fucking share.

It will be called The Giant Fucking Clawback Tax on Inbred Self-Righteous Twats.  It probably could use a snappy acronym.

Imbeciles like this show why leaving a potload of cash to your kids is a bad idea.

55

People like these obviously need to be hit with an annual personal wealth/personal asset tax instead of an annual income tax.  Just imagine what they would say if each year - instead of paying small amount of taxes (Because their wealth allows them to setup revenue sources largely free from income taxt.) and then saying they (personally) and everyone else do not pay enough - they get a tax bill equal to 20% of their net worth, personal wealth, personal assets, et al.  After all, if the King of Spain could demand a 'royal fifth' share of the booty some Spaniard or another worked to plunder from somewhere, why not the federal government from booty that these people did not nothing to deserve, except to be the result of procreation?

And also...If we take Goodwin Liu's logic to the (ahem) logical conclusion, then technically Barak Obama will have to pay reparations, since he was not the descendant of slaves brought to America.  And nations that were aided by the US during, say, WW2 (Soviet Union, i.e. Russia.) and during the Cold War (the People's Republic of China before 1989.) will have to pay reparations too, because they too benefited, however indirectly, from the work of American slaves.

 

56
"I'm in favor of higher taxes on people like me," declared Eric Schoenberg, who is sitting on an investment banking fortune. He complained about "my absurdly low tax rates."

Hey, moron (and not the good kind), you can open your checkbook and write a check to the IRS if you believe you are being undertaxed. They'll take it, too.

And while you're feeling generous, send me a check for $500K. I don't need much, and that should have me set for a very long time.

57 because they too benefited, however indirectly, from the work of American slaves.

Posted by: cxt217 at April 07, 2010 06:02 PM (vBd1q)

Where do these slaves live? I'm never seen a living slave. Not one.

58 they need to shut their pie holes and take up ocean yatch racing or somwthing else meaninglwss to spend their coin on

59

Let's just brutally kick the everloving shit out of them, strip them naked, burn down their houses, drive off in their cars and take all their money.

They'll thank you for it.

60 58. Where do these slaves live? I'm never seen a living slave. Not one. Posted by: Rodent Freikorps at April 07, 2010 06:05 PM (dQdrY) Go down to your post office next Thursday in the PM to see them lining up.

61

I'm rilly rilly pissed off that the GOVERNMENT has not DRAFTED ME YET!!!

MY great Grandfather gave his life for his country.

MY Grandfather was wounded severly in WW2 and we a POW.

My nephew was shot in ANBAR 5 years ago.

GOD DAMMIT OBAMA, WHY WON'T YOU DRAFT ME SO THAT I TOO CAN SERVE MY  COUNTRY??

(smirk)

62 It's very easy for these people to say they are in favor of higher taxes when they hire an army of tax attorneys to make sure they don't pay a lot.

63 As always I tend to look for more devious reasons than this is just about a bunch of wealthy do nothing douchebags.  You see, if they can drive the middle class and other people who want to become rich into the gutter, why guess what?  Yes, they are the only elite, and they won't have competition at the country club from that guy that invented the shamwow.  Can't be hanging about with the riff-raff now can we?

64 64  Bingo.  Same logic as H&R Block lobbying for mandatory licensing for tax preparers: drive all the little guys out of the business.

65 I would like to let everyone know that if you want to DONATE MONEY to the USA they will take it, and not bother you with a thank you note.... charity to the government is still legal. No one is stopping these men from giving what they "think" they owe.

66

GOD DAMMMMIT TAX ME MORE!!

Unless you fucking tax me more, I will not pay more.   So fucking tax me more Obama!!!

67 It is now proven that great wealth does not always mean the person who has that wealth is intelligent.

68 These are the Stings and Bonos of the US. Raise taxes on us! Please. More should be done to help the poor! Meanwhile, they move their primary residence out of the country. If they are so concerned, why don't they skip the middle man and give directly to the poor, schools and charities?

69 I am here to save the day, with my Fair Share Tax Plan.  It is so very simple.  For the last six years of filings, take the combined income taxes paid by Democrat Congresscritters, divided by their combined earnings.  This is the new Fair Share that everyone owes.  It is a six year rolling average, so all Charlie Rangel has to do to get me to pay more next year is to actually pay something this year. 

Did I mention that we need to audit the sh!t out of them, so there aren't any evil Republicans running a false flag operation to get an unfairly low rate?  It's for The Children.

70 "Rather than pay more taxes, how about giving your money to charity and let private individuals and organizations that do better work than governments can or will do?" It would probably serve the public good even better if they invested it in new businesses and technologies.

71 Shame on you, Laura.  Pretend?!  PRETEND?!

72 70 - perhaps we could balance the budget if the IRS audited every D-rat with an income over $100K every five years, and forced them to cough up what they owed under current tax laws? Given the record of Obozo's cabinet picks and known (D) tax cheats in Congress, it would certainly reduce the deficit by some enormous figure.

73 Ok, studies have shown the "Laffer Curve" is likely around 35% (give or take a few points, it's hard to pin down).

So if you raise the top marginal percentage much over 35% you do two things.

1) You "punish" the rich by forcing them to lower yield investments that are tax protected.

2) You reduce the funds the Federal Government receives.

So if you're proposing this, one of two things is true..

1) We have more cash than we need at the Federal Level, so we can use some of it for the noble job of punishing the rich; and we feel that's a valuable use of Federal funds.

2) You're one of the "rich" who can't figure out a decent investment, so you want everyone to suffer your low yield returns as well because you're a putz.

I don't see a lot of other options... unless you're just crazy.

74

Fron Francisco's Money Speech in Atlas Shrugged,  "Only the man who does not need it, is fit to inherit wealth – the man who would make his own fortune no matter where he started. If an heir is equal to his money, it serves him; if not, it destroys him. But you look on and you cry that money corrupted him. Did it? Or did he corrupt his money? Do not envy a worthless heir; his wealth is not yours and you would have done no better with it. Do not think that it should have been distributed among you; loading the world with fifty parasites instead of one would not bring back the dead virtue which was the fortune. Money is a living power that dies without its root. Money will not serve that mind that cannot match it. Is this the reason why you call it evil?"

Can we start the fire yet?

75 I have a question:  Why have these idiots formed a group to promote the repeal of the Bush Tax Cuts when the tax cuts start expiring next year?

I mean,  what's the point?

Are they that stupid?  Or is this group of people putting their money into a fake 501c3 as a TAX SHELTER?

76 Why doesn't someone this wealthy simply spend more of their money on charities and helping out the poor directly? Oh, because this has nothing to do with actually helping people in need or being a good citizen, its about idiot political theory.

77 But first, the most basic infringement on personal sovereignty is ignored...the moral authority to know how much money someone else has. Where does that derive from, exactly? A right to privacy exists when a teenage girl hires a doctor to vacuum a baby out of her womb. But somehow, what you have (or don't have) in a bank account is everyone's business. 

78

@6: "See, what I don't understand is why Bill Gates and Warren Buffet gave all those billions to a charitable foundation, rather than simply giving it to the all-knowing, always-beneficent Federal government.  Unless they actually think they know better than the Federal government how to help people in need?  Naaaaaah, that can't possibly be it."

It isn't.  Appoint family, friends, and flunkies to be the directors of the charity.  Keep the money (or at least about 85% of it).  Smart.

79 Please. 90% of those assholes' money is safely hidden and untouchable. Believe me, they aren't balancing their own checkbooks...

80 I don't have time to read the other comments.  Every time I do, I end up seeing someone else say what I was going to. So, here's probably a repeat.

Great post LauraW. I was so like, totally into what you said about the governdudes, and their whole competenciousity and all. That's just what all the rich douche bags think.  I just love it when one or two of these total 'look at me I'm so special' dicks come out and preach that they need taxed more. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Warren Buffet! You and your whole damn hellspawn clan have done more to destroy the American waistline than anyone! I'm of course talking about his kinfolk, breakfast, seafood, pizza, mexican, dessert, hell all them damn Buffets!)  They act like they need to have the government raise their taxes to pay more taxes.  I would guarantee that each and every one of them has an accountant that gets paid to make sure that they don't pay a nickel more than they have to. They could just not take any deductions, or, how did I think of this, write the f***ing government as big a check as it takes to get over their guilt complex. Nobody ever got thrown jail for paying too much tax. And the IRS will not track you down to make you take it back. Just like always, these douches are worried about someone else paying their fair share, not themselves.

81 Haha! Come Comrades, Let us harvest twice as much grain for the Beneficent Leader and the Good of the Party! Turn in those capitalist running dogs who would turn their backs on the great collective!

82 Seriously, if these brian dead idiots want to toss a few mill my way, i will sock half of it away somewhere safe and bitch that i should pay more on what is left too.

83

I listened to this on my way home from work.  Cavuto had him on the ropes early and let him go.  Eartly in the interview, this idiot said he gives a lot of his money away.  The follow-up question is:  Would you still give a lot of your money away to charities if you paid 40% taxes instead of 13%?  I'm certain this would be impossible and the answer would be "no".

84 testing em tag testing quote tag

85

Name the odds. make them long. I will take any and all that want to bet Mr. Miller ain't wedded to the hip of Axlerod and that this ain't astroturfing of the first order. Kepp in mind ladies this was done for a reason. Taxes are not going up. They re going way up.

86 nuvenus chovendus
cortinas
desentupimento

87

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