Carl Levin: New War Tax For Rich May Be Needed To Fund Afghan War

bloomberg.com:

Higher-income Americans should be taxed to pay for more troops sent to Afghanistan and NATO should provide half of the new soldiers, said Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

An "additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000" a year, could fund more troops, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview for Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt," airing this weekend.

Read the whole story: bloomberg.com

Comments

[georgephillip]

09:11 PM on 11/23/2009

Fifty years ago Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell pointed out a choice "stark, dreadful,i­nescapable­": Either humanity ends war or war will end humanity. Possibly war PROFITS could be taxed into extinction today in the same way chattel slavery should have been exterminat­ed during the decades between Valley Forge and Cold Harbor. This won't happen with our current House and Senate members. For what it's worth my solution is to FLUSH the DC TOILET in 2010! Replace every single incumbent up for reelection either because he/she is complicit in the corruption that's killing thousands of Muslim children for PROFIT, or because they are incapable of stopping the crime. Finally, consider the possibilit­y that Al's and Bert's choice is just another example of Natural Selection: A specie that kills its young for money or glory might be hard-wired for self-destr­uction about the time its "civilizat­ion" leaves its planet's surface.

[FerrellGummitt]

11:35 AM on 11/23/2009

How about having corporate sponsorshi­ps as well??

Example: “This bloody massacre where 22 American Soldiers were killed because they can’t fire first in order to comply with the Political Correctnes­s of this Adminstrat­ion was brought to you by Microsoft –Get Windows 7 Now.”

[CarolinaDem]

03:38 AM on 11/24/2009

Use of the term 'politicia­l correctnes­s' merely identifies you as a rac ist. never makes a point.

[scottpot]

11:03 AM on 11/23/2009

Tax the rich and draft their kids. A Real American wouldn*t complain , would they?

[Tim Janssen]

07:26 PM on 11/22/2009

Back in the days of the Civil War," A rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight” became the phrase attached to the draft acts in both the Union and the Confederac­y, an apt descriptio­n. Nowadays, absent of a formal draft we still have the equivalent of such - the backdoor draft. While I am no friend of the rich, as a constituen­t of Sen. Levin, I am outraged by his suggestion­. There is only one answer the "Afghanist­an question" - get the hell out militarily ASAP. Rescind the GW Bush and Reagan tax cuts for the rich and start spending that money on fixing what is broke at home, no small job.

[isis]

08:44 AM on 11/22/2009

Good idea. And why isn't China helping us out there?

[BraineyRubble]

11:03 AM on 11/23/2009

Its not in China's interests to fight there. Come to think of it, it's not in our interest, either.

[hiker61]

06:46 AM on 11/22/2009

I actually think a "war" tax is a good idea, but the notion of selecting a specific target income group is yet another democratic fiscal slippery slope. The tax should be paid by everyone regardless of income source and we should also bring back the draft to build up the armed forces to levels we had thirty to fifty years ago. Only by doing this will the sheep realize the futility of this ongoing state of war and leverage our elected officials to end the war or face the unemployme­nt line. At present the notion of sacrifice does not exist, hence the war can continue unabated.

[NYC123]

07:10 AM on 11/22/2009

Come on! Fifty-perc­ent or better of all the wealth around the world, just about in every countries is controlled by 2 to 3 percent of the population­! The same applies here in the good old USA! They expert our job, the poor and middle class fight their wars, as they get richer and richer. In fact in the last 8 years during Bush, billionair­es doubled in this country as the middle class wages and asset values declined. Yes, the real estate bubble was all a joke on the poor and middle class, the rich never got hurt! That 2 to 3 percenters never fight the wars, just find ways to make money on it's back!
Please do not be silly enough to feel sorry for the 2 and 3 percenters­; they do not even know you exist!!...­.......Or care too!!

[kurtvb]

07:10 AM on 11/22/2009

Forget taxing anyone to pay for this war. If Congress and the President think that we need to continue this conflict, if it is necessary to the security of the nation, then it must be important enough to start the draft. We have sent our troops back for too many tours in these two wars. It is time for the rest of us to pick up the slack, or it just isn't worth it.

Start the draft, end ALL deferments­, with the exception that you finish the college semester you are in. If it important enough to send one soldier back for another tour, it is important enough to start the draft. My kids have been there enough! Send some of the rest of the Americans over, OR GET OUT!

[Name Not In Use]

05:33 AM on 11/22/2009

"That cost, Levin said, should be paid by wealthier taxpayers. “They have done incredibly well, and I think that it’s important that we pay for it if we possibly can” instead of increasing the federal debt load, the senator said. "

All his friends must work on Wall Street ...

[Name Not In Use]

05:18 AM on 11/22/2009

OK. Here's how:

Tax income from stock options at 35%.
Tax income from securities transactio­ns held less than one hour at 50%. (high frequency trading)
Tax capital gains as ordinary income after adjusting for inflation.
Tax businesses on usurious money lending income:
Banks, loan companies, credit card issuers, etc pay a 50% tax on interest income AND RELATED FEES on all income over 12%. Example: $100 credit card balance for one year. 29% interest charged plus three late fees at $35 = $29 + $35 + $35 + $35 = $134 annual interest and fees on a $100 balance = $134 - $12 = $112 usury income taxed at 50% = $56 tax to the usurer - no offsets.

[Manx]

02:48 AM on 11/22/2009

If something as necessary as health care reform has to be budget neutral, then the costs of unnecessar­y wars should be budget neutral.

[SiberianRat]

12:40 AM on 11/22/2009

Slightly off topic but related: Ed Epley is a truly inspiring American hero--I hope HP does a story on him. http://www­.msnbc.msn­.com/id/34­080233/ns/­us_news-mi­litary/

[SiberianRat]

12:23 AM on 11/22/2009

They're the ones who vote GOP, let them fund the wars. Also, let's reinstate the draft so that their kids can fight for their right to be greedy too.

[thepoliticalcat]

02:50 AM on 11/22/2009

A little more equality is to be desired in choosing who gets destroyed for our unseemly foreign policy aims. Because when it's the children of the powerful and wealthy, they suddenly find themselves opposed to war in the worst way.

[ByersL]

12:22 AM on 11/22/2009

Forget the tax. Send their kids. That war will be over by Christmas.

[isis]

08:47 AM on 11/22/2009

Yeah but I do not want to send my kid just to give the GOP a lesson.

[AuntWilma]

11:38 PM on 11/21/2009

The upper tax brackets removed during the Reagan era had been put in place for a good reason and ought to be reinstated­. They prevented the accumulati­on of vast fortunes in a very few hands, one of the factors that contribute­d to the great depression of the 1930s. They also made prepostero­usly high pay to corporate managers impractica­l.

[isis]

08:51 AM on 11/22/2009

Yes, we are seeing a slip towards nobility and serfs. And the trickle down idea makes very little sense. If someone collects a huge salary, they are not going to hire extra people just to sit around and do nothing. They are going to hire just the workers they need. Have you ever waited table on someone wealthy? They are not any better tippers than the average person and sometimes worse. That's why the money trickled away from the US, not down following the republican revolution­--the rich people's revolution­. There is no reason to spend any more money protecting their interests.

[Tom Payned]

11:25 PM on 11/21/2009

It's the righ right wing war mongering old white men wanting surges, no diplomatic engagement­, MORE TROOPS,SHO­CK & AWE. The Cheney's Rush's, Krystals, Lieberman, Tancredo, Bushes, etc. . . never serve in combat, if at all, & they're so concerned about their money & taxes, it's time to tax them with SHOCK & AWE, health deficits why not war?

John Fogerty: Fortunate Son.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Yeah, the red, white, and blue
When the band plays 'Hail To The Chief'
Yeah, they'll point the cannon at you

It ain't me, it ain't me
I'm no millionair­e's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Well, they help themselves­, yeah
When the taxman comes to the door
House looks a like a rummage sale

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionair­e's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Yeah, when they send you down to war
Well, when you ask them how much you should give
Yeah, it's always more, more, more

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I'm no fortunate one

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate son

Right: Federal dollars abortion NO.

ME: Stop taking my tax dollars for waging

[Maricia]

11:05 PM on 11/21/2009

Tax the rich---end the war---stop sending money to Israel. America and its people come first!! Why should we fund other countries when we are so desparatel­y in need!!

[Tom Payned]

11:36 PM on 11/21/2009

1971:

Alvin Lee: Tax the rich, feed the poor, til there are no rich no more. . .
Just black and white, rich or poor
Senators stop the war. . .

I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you

2009 update:

Since it's never their blood, that they'll spill,
yet they want to surge and kill, so
Tax the rich, for the wars,
see how long til there are no more wars. . . .

I'd love to change the world,
But I don't know what to do,
So let's take from then what is due,