Idiot Alert: “Patriotic” millionaires want taxes raised on millionaires

The National Journal reports on a group of millionaires who are requesting Congressional leaders and President Obama raise taxes not only on them, but other millionaires as well – all in the spirit of “patriotism”(hat tip):

[…] One group of millionaires, however, is saying that they are more than willing to pay more for the good of their country.

The “Patriotic Millionaires” penned a letter to Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Speaker John Boehner, urging them to “increase taxes on incomes over $1,000,000.”

The Millionaires—a group that includes producer and director Doug Liman, actress Edie Falco, the founder of Ask.com, and top Google engineers—wrote that the United States has helped them succeed financially, and they are willing to help the country do the same.

“Our country has been good to us. It provided a foundation through which we could succeed,” the group wrote. “Now, we want to do our part to keep that foundation strong so that others can succeed as we have.”

According to Alison Goldberg of the group Wealth for the Common Good, raising tax rates on millionaires could raise $60 billion to $80 billion a year in revenue.

“This small monetary sacrifice is both an ethical and patriotic decision, made in the hopes of allowing the United States of America to continue to be a leader economically, politically, and morally,” said Garrett Gruener, founder of Ask.com.

Translation: “Without the ‘giving, caring’ US government, we are nothing!” *puke* 

Glenn Reynolds makes an important point:

Actually, they’re asking for other people to be taxed more, since they can always make a voluntary contribution to the Treasury. And there’s nothing patriotic about asking others to pay more when you haven’t done so yourself. Hacks.

But if it’s patriotic to ask for others to pay more, then my proposal for a 50% surtax on government officials’ post-government employment is super-duper-patriotic! So where’s my puff piece from the National Journal? Hello? Terris? Anyone?

Heh.