Obama and Class Warfare

This week US President Obama said that the wealthy should pay part of the cost of deficit reducing policies. This is obvious, as they currently pay remarkably little in taxes. Representative Paul Ryan declared this an act of ¨class warfare.¨

Of course the wealthy would call themselves the victims. After all, those like Paul Ryan want to prevent the rich from bearing the debt burden.

Between the years 1979 and 2005, the wealth of the top 1% of income distribution rose more than 480%. Let us bear in mind that the wealth of middle class Americans rose 21%.

Do the wealthy seem like the victims now?

According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 1% pay income and payroll tax of about 13%. That means that their tax burden is far less than that of the middle class.

The wealthy should pay more taxes because they have more money to spend. Those agreeing with Paul Ryan should bear in mind that their cries of ¨social warfare¨ is actually a plea for social contract exemption. They want to be exempt from paying tax to save the finances of the struggling economy, while the middle and lower classes empty out their wallets. That means that a tiny number of people want out of the social contract. This is what class warfare looks like.