The Rich are Very Much Like You and Me

Warren Buffet has publicly declared in favor of increasing taxes on "the rich."

I must admit I do not understand this. I do not care at all about the rich; what mystifies me is every one's preoccupation with them. What seems to have happened is that "the rich" is being presented as someone other than the rest of us. With apologies to Fitzgerald, aside from their checkbooks, that is untrue.

Increasing money in the government treasury has never resulted in improved government balance sheets; increasing government taxes just means the government spends more. There are two, just two, major problems facing our government money management: First, no one can tell what impact shifting national spending from individuals to government agencies means--if it means anything--and, two, no one can explain the difference--if there is one--between good government spending and bad spending.

If someone wants to start a discussion on a new good tax policy I would be interested, if someone wants to debate the merits of government spending I would be thrilled, if someone wants to discuss how to qualify government spending I'm on board. But if the debate is going to center on a tiny group of generally unpopular people as a proxy for raising taxes and government spending, that is disingenuous and I'm out.