Buffett Rule

The Senate is scheduled today to vote on Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's "Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012," which seeks to enshrine into law the "Buffett Rule" that millionaires and billionaires should not be paying taxes at a lower rate than the people who work for them.

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We have a lot of work to do in America: jobs to create, infrastructure to build, clean energy to generate, homeowners to save, teachers to hire and student debt to retire. more »

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Later this week on the floor of the House of Representatives, several federal budget proposals embodying different approaches to our country's economic challenges will compete for attention. more »

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You know the KISS rule: "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

When it comes to taxing wealth vs. taxing work, what's become known as the "Buffett Rule" is an elegant example of the KISS principle at work. Income is income. It should be taxed at the same rate, whether you've earned it by trading stocks or by being the janitor at the stock-trading office.

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Today the Western world is divided between two visions of our economic future. One vision is of austerity and the other is of growth. One is of hope and possibility, the other of despair and cynicism. The battle between these two visions has divided the United States and the entire Western world.

And both of them can be found in in President Obama latest budget.

It's almost as if the President decided that if the Republicans can't provide him with a challenger worthy of this debate, he'll conduct it with himself.

Double Vision

In one vision, the excesses and errors of the 1 percent have left the Western world too broke to fulfill its social contract with anyone but the wealthiest among us. Middle class and lower-income citizens must be abandoned to face a future of ever-dwindling resources. Government's only permissible spending is on wasteful military systems that enrich wealthy contractors and their corporations.

In the other vision, government retains its role as an engine of growth and change. It's wise enough to invest in long-term expansion before pivoting to address its deficit problems. It manages its budget, not "like a family," but like a business - one that understands that well-timed investment is the key to continued growth and prosperity, In today's world, that means investing in jobs, research, education, health, and infrastructure.

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It is no surprise that the 2013 federal budget proposal that President Obama released today is deemed "dead on arrival" in Congress. Most White House budget proposals are. more »

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President Obama has proposed a specific new minimum tax rate for millionaires. Should America's rich feel angry or relieved? We check the IRS tax data archives for an answer.

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Last year I prepared for the SOTU by speculating about the “fairy tales” the President would tell about fiscal responsibility, fiscal sustainability and the debt/deficit problem. more »

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The following was originally published at Politico

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Can democracy, one top political scientist asked last week, 'function effectively in a society marked by vast economic inequality'? The fate of the modest new White House bid to tax our rich may tell the tale.

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