With presidential elections looming near in the future, the candidates are buckling down and getting serious about their campaigns. President Barack Obama has recently been pushing his plans for the Buffett Rule, a tax system he plans to enact if he is reelected. The Buffett Rule is simplistic in nature: the wealthiest one percent of the nation should pay at least the same tax rate as those in the middle class. Its name comes from the famous Warren Buffett, an extremely wealthy investor who admits he pays a lower percentage of income taxes than his secretary.
The tax system currently in place allows many of America’s millionaires to take advantage of loopholes and tax breaks to substantially lower their tax rates. In fact, according to the IRS, 1,470 households were able to pay no federal income taxes on their incomes of over a million dollars in 2009. The top one percent is currently paying one of the lowest tax rates in 50 years, a few paying even just half the rate imposed on top earners in 1960. Meanwhile, the average middle-class household’s tax rate has actually increased since 1960.
This defies common sense and is frankly offensive to the people who work hard every day for their money. The average American is giving up more of their salary to fund programs that the entire country, rich or poor, uses, while the wealthy are sometimes paying absolutely nothing in income tax to the government. The Buffett Rule could fix this.
And at the end of the day, even if their taxes increase, the wealthy have little premise on which to protest. In the words of Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody.” Each and every person in this country uses roads, walks on sidewalks, takes buses, goes to school or works. Every person utilizes the infrastructure put in place by the government to be successful. Warren continues, “You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.”
And why shouldn’t we all pay our fair share? Republican or democrat, I think everyone can agree that the incredibly wealthy should pay at least the same percentage as struggling middle class families. It just doesn’t make sense to allow the people who don’t need tax breaks to take advantage of the system, especially in a time of economic need. By requiring those who make over $1 million to put in their fair share of taxes, tax revenue could increase by up to $50 billion, and though this money is certainly insufficient when compared to the $15 trillion national debt, it could help those who actually need it.
The Buffett Rule can help seniors maintain good health care coverage, teachers keep jobs, give public safety workers like firefighters and police officers a salary, even help students like those here at UW-Madison pay for school. According to the Obama website, the amount of money gained by taxing just one millionaire at the same rate as the average middle class worker would be enough to give 5,400 college students a Pell grant or 22,000 college students a work study.
In the grand scheme of things, $50 billion doesn’t sound like a lot, but the changes that money can make are enormous. Beyond the strictly financial aspect of the Buffett Rule, the country would likely see a heightened morale among the middle class once equality is ensured. The economy would benefit, public colleges might see tuition at least plateau, if not drop. A million possibilities exist, and it takes only a vote to find them.
Kate is a freshman majoring in English and Spanish. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
