Millionaires Ask Congress To Tax Them More

By Janie Amaya

Members of the group Patriotic Millionaires joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill Wednesday urging Congress and President Obama to increase taxes on incomes over $1 million in order to pay down the nation’s debt.

According to the group’s website, in Novemer 2010 more than 100 of the country’s most financially successful citizens came together to urge the president to let the Bush era tax cuts expire for only those earning more than $1 million.

Group member and Director of the Project on Global Finance at the Roosevelt Institute Dr. Rob Johnson said America has a crisis of trust in society institutions.

With the deadline approaching next week for the congressonal deficit reduction committee to present it’s $1.3 trillion plan, Johnson said he is very concerned.

“I’m very concerned about how the [super committee] will fortify or denigrate this notion of trust in government,” Johnson said.

He noted there is very clear evidence across the spectrum among pollsters that raising taxes on millionaires is favored by a large proportion of the American people.

“The Patriotic Millionaires believe the government should raise taxes on us,” Johnson said.

He added that while some people say taxes should not be raised for millionaires right now, the balance budget multiplier would allow millionaires to pay into public programs by raising taxes.

“If you raise taxes on [millionaires] you can direct those proceeds to an education program, an infrastructure program and a science program, where people know what’s happening with the money,” Johnson said. “Most of us don’t spend the extra money we get. We save it, we hold on to it.”

Johnson also said that while many say the current economic system is broken, he sees it is actually working in favor of those who designed it.

“It’s broken for most people, but it essentially has become a system of socialism for the rich. It’s designed to ensure that wealthy people take gains…heads, I win, tails, the population loses.”

Also present at the hearing was founder of Ask.com and member of Patriotic Millionaires Garrett Gruner, who said the promise of the Bush tax cuts was to lower marginal tax rates to stimulate significant economic growth which failed.

“If you look at the Clinton Era — higher marginal tax rates — growth rates were higher, job creation was much, much higher,” he said.

Gurener said he wants lawmakers to know that, “I and the other Patriotic Millionaires are asking you…to be firm in raising our taxes, restoring them at least to the levels they were at at the time of the Bush tax cuts. This will save $700 billion dollars.”