Wealth and sacrifice: Warren Buffett says the "mega-rich" should pay more in taxes

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Warren Buffett's op-ed in today's Times is getting a lot of attention -- and deservedly so. Basically, he argues that the "mega-rich" haven't been asked to sacrifice anything, particularly with respect to taxes, even in this time of supposed "shared sacrifice":

Our leaders have asked for "shared sacrifice." But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks.

Indeed, Buffett says that the income tax he paid last year amounted to only 17.4 percent of his taxable income. That's astonishingly low -- reflective of a tax system that isn't only not progressive but that is designed specifically to benefit the rich above all.

And he actually asks for his taxes to be raised:

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn't mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering. 

I would like to think this is true. Surely the likes of Bill Gates and other of the more progressive mega-rich wouldn't mind paying more in taxes -- within reason, of course. Some, no doubt, would object, but, even then, would it really matter if they had to pay a bit more? They'd still be mega-rich. Taxation wouldn't take the "mega" away. They'd still have way more money than the rest of us.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice. 

Buffett is an admirable man with some admirable ideas, and what he proposes here makes a ton of sense -- just like letting the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire. Raising these rates would go a long way towards fixing America's fiscal mess.

Certainly, asking the mega-rich to make a few sacrifices really isn't too much to ask -- and, again, it's not like this would be a huge sacrifice, even if Republicans will scream at any such attempt to raise taxes, claiming that the "job creators" are being vilified. At a time when even a Democratic president is putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block, when cuts to key entitlement programs for the poor are likely to be part of any bipartisan "deal," and when middle class families are facing increasing difficulty making ends meet, the mega-rich should indeed contribute their fair share.

Republicans can scream all they want. Warren Buffett has more credibility than the whole lot of 'em.