The Forward on Taxes: “It’s Not about Me. It’s Supposed to be about Us”

Jason Attermann — August 26, 2011 – 11:24 am | Budget | Congress | Social Safety Net Comments (1) Add a comment

The Forward published an editorial in its print edition today discussing support among wealthy Jews to raise taxes on the richest Americans to pay for social services. According to the editorial board:

We don’t pay taxes in the same way we contribute to particular interests and causes; it’s not an individual response to a perceived need. We have a communal responsibility to provide resources so that government can protect us, provide for us when necessary, and maintain all the services and privileges that are taken for granted, from street cleaning to farm subsidies. It’s not about me. It’s supposed to be about us.

Following Warren Buffet’s urging of Congress to raise his taxes in order to lower the federal deficit, The Forward’s editorial board investigated the opinions of Jewish Americans listed on the Forbes list of wealthiest Americans.

Mark Cuban (#144, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet) answered via e-mail: ‘I agree that the wealthiest citizens of the country can afford to pay more and should. I agree that carried interest should be treated as regular income. I personally have no problem paying more taxes.’ However, Cuban said that he’s opposed to ‘the inefficiency with which the government spends our taxes’ and would want any increase to be ‘conveyed directly to the relevant parties without the overhead and mismanagement costs deducted from my payments.’

Fair enough. But you see the sentiment building.

Edgar Bronfman Sr. (#136, Seagram’s liquor), was on vacation, but his office pointed to a 2008 piece he wrote for The Huffington Post that expresses his opinion still. He didn’t mince words. ‘Raise my taxes,’ he began. ‘And raise them now.’ He wrote this in the hope that the Bush-era tax cuts would be repealed before they were allowed to expire this year, in what now seems like a faraway dream.

Michael Steinhardt, another Jewish leader with a significant bank account, was just as adamant. When asked whether the very rich should ante up to reduce the federal deficit, he replied by e-mail: ‘Yes, they should pay more, both absolutely and relatively.’ Interestingly, he and Cuban both acknowledged that they probably pay less proportionately than their employees. ‘I have tax accountants that itemize and scrutinize, few people can afford that,’ Cuban wrote.

The editorial went on to defend these positions from attacks by some Republicans in Congress:

Buffett proposed that Americans should pay more on taxable income earned in excess of $1 million, with another tax hike for those earning $10 million or more. Not only would this reasonable plan help reduce the federal budget deficit, it would also begin to redress the growing income inequality that threatens the social fabric of the nation.

Why is Congress so stubbornly opposed to this sensible - and popular - remedy? It could be that about half the members are millionaires. Or that three of the 12 members of the Super Committee charged with rearranging the country’s finances are among the richest on Capitol Hill. But, as Buffett and others prove, being rich doesn’t preclude you from doing the right thing for your country.

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