Only The Little People Pay Taxes

There have been lots of comments on the latest from David Brooks with my favorite being how Kevin Drum reacted to this:

My fantasy package, and I'm not running for office, would include a progressive consumption tax, and it would have chained CPI, and it would have a pretty big means-test of Medicare.

Kevin correctly noted:

Still, I have to chuckle when he complains about Obama not proposing a "politically plausible" plan, and then offers up an alternative that includes a progressive consumption tax, something that Republicans have been unrelentingly opposed to for decades in any reasonable form.

In the current negotiations that David Brooks and Ezra Klein were discussing, it is clear what the hold up is. The President is willing to accept some spending cuts if the Republicans accept a few roll backs for the preferential tax treatment for capital income but the Republicans have been steadfastly opposed to anything that would raise the tax bite for the ultrarich. This is nothing new as this has been the political debate for over 30 years. And the next time you hear a pharmaceutical executive complain about rising tax burdens - remember that their effective tax rate is likely to be less than 25 percent.