“Tax the Rich,” Reprise

In President Obama’s State of the Union address this evening, he apparently will advocate for more taxes on the rich. It’s a tried-and-true political platform aimed at gaining support from those who think that some people make too much money and/or they have more money than they need.

Cascade founder Steve Buckstein addressed this issue in 2010 after the President said, “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.…” We link to Steve’s Commentary here so that everyone can put the President’s latest tax-the-rich proposals into the perspective they so richly deserve.

In a recent speech promoting his financial industry reform bill, President Barack Obama had what may become known as another “Joe the Plumber moment” (in which he spoke off-the-cuff about “spread(ing) the wealth around”). This time, he said:

“We’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.…”

Left unsaid was what the president thinks should happen to those who make “more than enough.” Should their taxes go up? Or, should everything they earn over some arbitrary level be taken from them and redistributed to others?

Read the rest of “You Make Too Much Money” here.

Steve Buckstein is founder and Senior Policy Analyst at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.