Stiglitz: "It's not class warfare to ask everyone in the country to pay their fair share."

[ProSense]

Warren Buffett Rule: Class Warfare or Tax Fairness?

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"Class warfare will simply divide this country more. It will attack job creators, divide people and it doesn't grow the economy," Rep. Paul Ryan said on FOX News Sunday. "Class warfare may make for really good politics, but it makes for rotten economics."

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize winner in economics and professor at Columbia University, said he disagrees.

"It's not class warfare to ask everyone in the country to pay their fair share. To say the wealthy have taken advantage of their political position and have not paid their share of taxes is not class warfare. It's a statement of fact," Stiglitz told ABC News. "The fact is they are paying lower taxes and most Americans think this is unjust and unfair. Tax loopholes don't just appear out of thin air. They are the result of big political investments that rich people have particularly made to get tax preferences."

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Stiglitz said there is "no justification" why hedge funds should be taxed at a lower rate than workers. He said it is possible that raising taxes by 0.5 percent, particularly with millionaires, could raise GDP by 1 to 1.5 percentage points.

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[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Good to see you on board.

Good to see you on board.

[Inuca]

2. I hope that this "class warfare"

talking point comes to bute them back in the you know what. Admitedly I am biased (and, with all due modesty, reasonably well informed), but I think that it is a rather double-edged sword, in the sense that if they keep hearingit over and over, people may start thinking about this "class" thing a bit more, and maybe, just maybe, start better understanding the fundamental unfairness of the system that leads to these stunning inequalities.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Now we just need a revival of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"

so people can see for themselves that the rich really ARE different.

Of course, the problem with the original show was that it featured the 'famous' more than the 'rich' - if you have a sports star or movie idol talking about the two-room apartment they started with while showing their 10 million dollar home, it gives the false impression of "maybe I could do it, too".

Most of the rich are rich because they started out rich.

[OHdem10]

4. The Rich are Winning. The Middle Class is disappearing and

the Poor are getting poorer.

[humbled_opinion]

5. I think the real challenge

Is how do you get the rich to actually pay their fair share. Look the rich are alot of things but stupid certainly isn't one. If they were altruistic then many would simply not claim exemptions thereby allowing the government to keep more in revenue. The entire idea of taxation has been created as not something that is a patriotic duty but rather something that is shunned and where everyone tries to pay as little as possible. Removing loopholes may result in some increases to revenue in the government coffers but what will the expense of that increase be? Will the rich move their money offshore creating investment and opportunity in foreign countries instead of America? Will the business owners cut jobs, or reduce salaries, (everyone is not protected by unions and CBA's)? Will the rich forego some luxury items they used to buy in America and now buy them overseas?

[indepat]

6. Anyone/everyone, including large corporations, who aren't required by law to pay an equitable,

fair share of the income tax burden necessary to reasonably pay for known governmental operations, service its debt, and meet its other obligations is/are being allowed to suck at the federal welfare teat: it's welfare, pure and simple and a misfeasance of office on the part of the executive and legislative branches of such a magnitude as to boggle the minds of any persons possessing even a modicum of critical thinking skills. :patriot: