The U.S. Senate voted down the Warren Buffet rule, a minimum tax on millionaires in a party line vote this week.
This is just wrong that people like Warren Buffet and Mitt Romney pay less tax than members of the middle class.
The 2001 tax cuts on capital gains passed by President George Bush allow people like Romney, estimated worth $190 million to $250 million, to pay a real tax rate of 14 percent for 2010, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Supposedly, the Bush tax cut was to create jobs. Since that time, the U.S. has been in the Great Recession.
It didn’t work.
Stay-at-home moms work hard. And for most families, this involves choices and great sacrifice.
Not so for the Romneys. Ann stayed home, bought the best education for her children, and has a choice of two Cadillacs to drive, overseas accounts in Switzerland and a corporation in Bermuda. Mitt refuses to release his 2011 tax returns at this point, as well as old tax returns. Why?
This is what some of the super rich do. They hire full-time accountants to find the loopholes and hide funds overseas. The middle class American can’t do this.
Last fall, Romney made plans to bulldoze a 3,009 square foot beach front house in La Jolla, Calif. and replace it with a 11,-062 foot house complete with a car elevator.
They have decided to wait until after the election to finish the house.
It wouldn’t hurt people such as Romney to cut back just a smidgin. In fact, paying a couple of million more in taxes wouldn’t even make a dent in their lifestyle.
Legislation that keeps rich people as rich and hiding from a reasonable tax liability helps no one but themselves. Congress, primarily made up of wealthy people, has no incentive to increase taxes on themselves.
They’ve convinced the middle class this will trickle down. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy and huge cuts for entitlements for the poor are pretty popular, except for Medicare and Social Security.
According to Time Magazine June, 2011, the 400 richest Americans paid 18 percent in taxes, still less than the average middle class family.  Also in the Time story, corporate profits for 2011 were higher than they’ve been in five years.
Trickle down economics has not worked since the Bush cuts in 2001.
The tax burden should be carried by everyone, not just the middle class.