LTLFTcomposite said:
Warren Buffett may pay a lower percentage (because of capital gains) but I'll bet he still pays a whole lot more, and doesn't derive significantly more benefits than the secretary. By allowing WB to keep more of his money he invests it in things that give people jobs (like the secretary). I suppose we could confiscate all his wealth and distribute it "fairly" among the population, if you really think the government allocates resources with greater lasting benefit than WB. I for one do not.
I don't harbor any delusions about government's effectiveness at redistributing wealth. But I do think that cutting the taxes for the rich (and corporations) by 28% (a 10% drop in the tax rate is a 28% reduction in their taxes) would translate to an even WORSE effectiveness at redistributing wealth, because there would be no increased spending (the rich can only eat and play so much) and at best the money will be redistributed as dividends. And who do you think own most of the stocks that would benefit from these dividend disbursements? Certainly not the college student who's trying to pay off his student loan debt. Even with government inefficiencies taking 50% out of every dollar distributed, you're still looking at 50 cents of every dollar going back into the economy, versus 90 cents of every dollar going into some corporations off-shore tax haven (or rich person's swiss bank account).
Per dollar of income, the unwashed masses are the ones who make the greatest contribution towards driving the economy. They "consume" necessities AND products. A rich person got rich from "working hard and saving". I don't begrudge the rich individual for benefitting from their hard work, but they know how to minimize their tax burden, and are generally not above paying their fair share in taxes.
But corporations are NOT people and should not get to purchase a government that's supposed to be "by the people and for the people". They should not get a tax reduction at the cost of healthcare for people (corporations don't need healthcare after all)!