Ruling Class Traitors Want to Tax the Rich

[Modern School]

Working in These Times had an interesting fluff piece this week about wealthy “turncoats” demanding increased taxes on themselves. They were covering a protest outside Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in which protesters rallied against Governor Cuomo’s service cuts and demanded that millionaires pay their fair share. Amongst the crowd, they observed two protesters holding a sign saying “Another trust fund baby for taxing the rich! Let’s pay our fair share!”

The two “turncoats” were Elspeth Gilmore and Jessie Spector, Co-Director and National Organizer, respectively, of Resource Generation, a national nonprofit organization that challenges young progressives with wealth to use their privilege and resources for social change. According to Working in These Times, Resource Generation has been working with about 1,500 young affluent adults for the past 13 years, through conferences, workshops and philanthropic projects. They have also teamed up with Wealth for the Common Good, which advocates changing tax policy.

I place the term “turncoats” in quotes because these people are not truly class traitors. They do not ask the wealthy to give up their wealth or their power. They do not advocate for a classless society or an end to capitalism, wage slavery or bosses. They are simply liberals who support the existing system, but want it to be reformed. It is noteworthy that in 13 years of organizing, they could only muster 2 of their members (both officers in the organization) to show up at the Waldorf demonstration and that they have utterly failed to have any effect on tax policy. In fact, over the course of the past 13 years, tax rules have changed to benefit the wealthy to an even greater degree.

The rich do need to pay more in taxes, much more. But it is not going to happen because a handful of wealthy liberals ask them to. It will happen only through mass mobilizations, strikes, occupations and other tactics that cut into their profits. The ruling elite do sometimes consent to policies that benefit working people, but only when necessary to keep capitalism running smoothly.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/

[mweathermay]

1. taxing the rich

If you really want to tax the rich, and make wealthy Americans contribute more ...

get rid of the mortgage interest tax deduction

poor people living in apartments don't get that deduction, but people living in McMansions certainly do.

[orangeapple]

2. how much difference do you think it makes?

"As explained by the IRS, how much interest you deduct depends on the date the mortgage was taken out and the amount of the mortgage. If your loan was taken out before Oct. 13, 1987, there are no limits on the amount of interest that can be deducted. If it was taken out after that date, you cannot claim interest on more than $1,000,000 worth of mortgages on first and second homes, nor more than $100,000 in any loan taken out for any reason other than home purchase. Layered on the mortgage interest rules are the itemized-deduction limitations. Mortgage interest is one of many itemized deductions. In 2009, your deduction for certain types of itemized deductions, including mortgage interest, begins to phase out at an adjusted gross income of $166,800. For every $100 of income over the limit you lose $3 of itemized deduction up to a maximum loss of 80 percent of your itemized deductions."


For a person with a $1,000,000 mortgage and a 7% rate you're talking about a ~$2,000 deduction, before even considering the phase out for income over $166K. How many million dollar mortgages do you think are out there? It's not enough to address trillion dollar annual deficits.

[orangeapple]

3. disengenuous

They don't need higher tax rates to turn over their inherited wealth. The Treasury will take whatever checks they send and deposit them.

This is some effort to salve their own conscience for living on means they didn't earn.

You can make all the signs you want, 'show me the money'.

Nothing stop them from getting 'real jobs' and sending their trust funds checks to Uncle Sam, I call bullshit.