Jonathan Chait of The New Republic fires back at all those conservatives that say that Warren Buffett should voluntarily write a check for the taxes he thinks he should owe:
"The Wall Street Journal editorial page:
If he's worried about being undertaxed, we'd suggest he simply write a big check to Uncle Sam and go back to his day job of picking investments.
Obviously this fails to grasp the fundamental collective action problem that's the entire basis for taxation. You obviously can't fund the government on the basis of voluntary donations. Buffett and other wealthy people who favor higher taxes on the rich don't just believe they should pay more taxes. They believe the government needs more revenue. It's amazing how many conservatives continue to think this just-pay-more response constitutes some kind of slam dunk rebuttal. Plus, of course, if a non-rich person proposes raising taxes on the rich, then it's "envy" and "class warfare." So, really, nobody has any business ever arguing that the rich should pay higher taxes."
Amazing that over 90 years later, the Republican Party is still proposing the policy of volunteerism first championed by President Herbert Hoover at the start of the Great Depression.
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