We hope not, since he has much more important things to do. But these remarks from the President today are worth a read.
You’ll hear a lot of folks, by the way, say that government is broken. Well, government and politics are two different things. Government is our troops who are fighting on our behalf in Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s government. (Applause.) Government are also those FEMA folks when there’s a flood or a drought or some emergency who come out and are helping people out. That’s government. Government is Social Security. Government are teachers in the classroom. (Applause.) Government are our firefighters and our police officers, and the folks who keep our water clean and our air clean to breathe, and our agricultural workers. And when you go to a national park, and those folks in the hats — that’s government.
[…]
[D]on’t buy into this whole notion that somehow government doesn’t do us any good; government is what protects us. The government is what built the Interstate Highway System. Government is what sent a man to the Moon. It’s what invested in the research and development that created innovations all across this country.
In today’s New York Times, Warren Buffett argues for higher tax rates for the wealthy. An immensely successful investor, Warren Buffett’s as qualified as anyone to say what effect higher taxes would have on business. What does he think?
I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off.
Mr. Buffett says he’s not the only tax patriot among America’s richest families.
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.
It’s heartening to see people who have benefitted so much from America being ready to give back. Let’s hope Washington is listening.
From across the nation, Americans are calling on tax dollars to save the day:
If corporations and households taking in $1 million or more in income each year were now paying taxes at the same annual rates as they did back in 1961, the IPS researchers found, the federal treasury would be collecting an additional $716 billion a year.
In other words, if the federal government started taxing the wealthy and their corporations at the same rates in effect a half-century ago, the federal debt to investors would almost totally vanish over the next decade.
(And in other pro-tax news, the New York Times points out that the expiration of airfare taxes haven’t lowered prices.)
Can tax dollars get healthy food to kids, rebuild our cities, and smash our deficit to smithereens? Stay tuned — same tax-time, same tax-channel!
Great article by Sally Kohn in the Christian Science Monitor this week:
Imagine if, when Henry Ford wanted to start the Ford Motor Company, he had to not only drill for oil himself but also oversee the laying of pipelines and production infrastructure across government-owned land so his cars could have gas to make them go.[…]
Businesses in the United States don’t succeed in spite of our government, in many ways, they succeed because of our government. Through our taxes, we fund the legal and economic infrastructure of private sector success. By definition, those businesses that get the most out of that infrastructure are those that should give the most back.
Kohn talks mostly about the value businesses get from taxes when they produce their products. Good point. But taxes are also the reason they have so many customers. If this were your commute, a lot fewer people would buy cars. And then there’s the incalculable value of have educated, healthy employees and consumers.
Kinda makes you wonder how any business could not heart taxes!
We already talked about tax amnesia, a terrible disease that causes people and companies to forget all the benefits they have received from American tax dollars. For some of the corporations suffering from this malady, the disease has reached its acute stage. These businesses want to bring their profits home from overseas — but they don’t want to pay their taxes. Instead, they want a special tax repatriation “holiday,” so their money can come home tax-free.
Those taxes have already been on a holiday. They’ve been overseas for years. Now they need to come home and do their jobs. There are roads that need building, kids that need teaching, and an economy that could use some real stimulus. (And giving away another business tax cut ain’t going to do it. It really, really, really ain’t.)
Tax money has job-creating superpowers. We need it here at home. Now. It’s time for patriotic tax repatriation. Patriotic American companies with profits vacationing overseas should bring all their profits home by July 4th. (Apple, we’re looking at you.) And Congress should stop letting our tax dollars waste their time overseas when they have so much to do here at home. Ending tax deferral all together would put American tax dollars, and American people, back to work.
Some of America’s biggest companies seem to be having a dreadful case of tax amnesia, forgetting how much of their success is the result of American tax dollars. Now they seem to have misplaced a bunch of the taxes they owe in offshore accounts. How embarrassing for them! Luckily, we have the antidote: a healthy dose of pro-tax patriotism.
Of course, these details hardly scratch the surface, really. After all, taxes protect these companies’ property, and keep their employees and their customers safe and healthy. There’s a reason Pfizer isn’t located in Somalia!
All in all, these companies all owe America, and American tax dollars, an immense debt of gratitude. If only these companies could remember, we know they’d bring home every dollar right away, and be proud of the taxes they get to pay. Heck, they’d probably want to raise the tax rate, just to say thank you!
Tax amnesia is truly a terrible disease.
The White House released their new, more detailed tax receipt this morning, so you can see exactly where those tax dollars went. Now you can figure out exactly how much credit you can take for awesome things like veterans’ benefits, student financial aid, Social Security, clean air and water, the National Science Foundation, and more!
A few years ago, General Electric’s CEO, Jeff Immelt, gave a talk at West Point. Here’s what he has to say (pdf) to the young men and women who signed up to defend their country:
Few of us will ever do what many of you will do for duty, honor and country. But America doesn’t expect heroism from all of us. It does expect us to be good citizens of this country where no one’s dreams are too big, a country that is defended so bravely by others. It expects us to honor the sacrifice made on our behalf by making the best use of the freedom you protect. Wherever our talents lie, and whenever our conscience requires, we must all, to the best of our abilities, help keep America the great face for good it has long been. We are trying to do that at GE.
Mr. Immelt must not know that GE doesn’t pay their taxes! They got $3.2 billion in “tax benefits” last year. That’s enough money to house every single member of America’s Armed Forces and their families. A little bit of citizenship from GE would go an awful long way!
Our West Point heroes pay their taxes. In fact, they are paid by tax dollars. If Mr. Immelt would like to do the right thing for our men and women in uniform, paying GE’s taxes is the right place to start.
