The Whiny Rich versus Citizens with Money

As long as the minimum wage is too low to raise a family out of poverty, and life-saving health care can bankrupt the middle class, the rich will remain The Enemy.

But it behooves us proletarians to note the difference between the Whiny Rich and Citizens with Money.

Digby:

If you haven't read Bill Maher's righteous rant about the whining rich, it's a corker. This excerpt is just the conclusion. The rest is just as good:

Another of my favorites, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said, "I don't know where they're going to get all this money, because we're running out of rich people in this country." Actually, we have more billionaires here in the U.S. than all the other countries in the top ten combined, and their wealth grew 27% in the last year. Did yours? Truth is, there are only two things that the United States is not running out of: Rich people and bullshit. Here's the truth: When you raise taxes slightly on the wealthy, it obviously doesn't destroy the economy -- we know this, because we just did it -- remember the '90's? It wasn't that long ago. You were probably listening to grunge music, or dabbling in witchcraft. Clinton moved the top marginal rate from 36 to 39% -- and far from tanking, the economy did so well he had time to get his dick washed.

Even 39% isn't high by historical standards. Under Eisenhower, the top tax rate was 91%. Under Nixon, it was 70%. Obama just wants to kick it back to 39 -- just three more points for the very rich. Not back to 91, or 70. Three points. And they go insane. Steve Forbes said that Obama, quote "believes from his inner core that people... above a certain income have more than they should have and that many probably have gotten it from ill-gotten ways." Which they have. Steve Forbes, of course, came by his fortune honestly: he inherited it from his gay egg-collecting, Elizabeth Taylor fag-hagging father, who inherited it from his father. Of course then they moan about the inheritance tax, how the government took 55% percent when Daddy died -- which means you still got 45% for doing nothing more than starting out life as your father's pecker-snot.

We don't hate rich people, but have a little humility about how you got it and stop complaining. Maybe the worst whiner of all: Stephen Schwarzman, #69 on Forbes' list of richest Americans, compared Obama's tax hike to "when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939." Wow. If Obama were Hitler, Mr. Schwarzman, I think your tax rate would be the least of your worries.

This whining has been deriving me crazy since the beginning of the financial crisis. I really thought the Master of the Universe, while ruthless and greedy, at least were tough. But this constant sniveling about their poor hurt feelings has made me totally lose whatever sliver of respect I had left for them. It's nice to see more people calling them out on it.

Update: McJoan pointed out this morning that these whimpering babies only represent a third of the wealthy:

In the long list of polls that reflect majority support in the country for allowing the tax cuts for the rich to expire, there was one highlighted by the Wall Street Journal that has gotten lost in the hub-bub:

As Congress and President Obama fight over the Bush tax cuts, a small number of left-leaning rich people have come out in support of paying higher taxes. The most famous are the members of the Responsible Wealth Project, who say they pay too little in taxes and want to address inequality.

They may be an eccentric minority, or (in the view of conservatives) a lunatic fringe. But a Quinnipiac University poll this year showed nearly two-thirds of those with household incomes of more than $250,000 a year support raising their own taxes to reduce the federal deficit.

So not all of the wealthy are angry about tax hikes. But that doesn’t mean they just want bigger government. What they want is better government – and investment in growth.

And a few take citizenship beyond self-interest, as Nicole Belle explains:

When I heard of Ben Stein's op-ed complaining about the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the top 2% of wage earners, I had to physically force myself not to roll my eyes too far back into my head. Apparently, Linda McGibney, a producer for Stargate Universe on the SyFy Channel did too, and decided to put Stein in his place:

I am an American. I am in the highest tax bracket. I also work in entertainment - which is what Mr. Stein does as well.

I am fine with the tax increase. I think it patriotic that I am taxed in this way. I want to help my country.

I believe the fact that I can have a job this year, and hopefully every year to come, is a privilege.

Mr. Stein, there are Americans who qualify for this tax increase under the proposed plan who don't feel "punished" by it. We feel it is our duty in hard times to help the rest of America.

And I am not talking about charity; this isn't charity. We both give to charity, of our own choosing. Mr. Stein probably gives more than me.

This is about being a grown-up and accepting the fact that we made money during the bogus up-tick in the economy. We prospered. So did others in our ranks. A LOT.

Can I say A LOT one more time?

Now, it's time to help the rest of America.

Brava. Let us cheer for the grown ups in this debate, willing to look past their own entitled, selfish needs and understand that what makes us a civilized society is how we care for the least of us.

Even if all the Citizens With Money are trying to do is stave off the pitchforks and torches.