"The Rich can afford that!"

To no one's surprise, President Hoover Obama has proposed a repeal of the Bush era tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 per year because "they can afford it."  Apart from the little fact that the prosperous often choose not to afford higher tax rates when they are imposed, and the fact that high income taxes hit primarily the prosperous, not those who are truly wealthy, there is a second, more important question that we ought to be asking; can those employed by the prosperous afford an end to the Bush tax cuts?

Seriously.  Can they afford it?   The prosperous, well, they can afford to pay 4% more in taxes--though it should be noted that this amounts to about a 7-8% cut in disposable income above $250,000 when FICA and state taxes are accounted for.   None of them will go hungry, most likely--though for a doctor with a lot of school debt, $250,000 doesn't go nearly as far as one would think.

On the other hand, it's the middle and lower classes that won't be employed because the prosperous didn't have money to start new businesses.  It's the middle and lower classes who build and sell the yachts, summer homes, and cars they won't be buying.  It's the middle and lower classes who work at and maintain the resorts and restaurants they won't be patronizing.  It's the middle and lower classes who won't be hired to do the lawn work, clean their homes, and care for their children.

Among Democrats, it's really popular for some reason to demonize those who are prosperous.  Perhaps they've never realized that when the prosperous use their wealth, it benefits us all.  Hopefully Mr. Hoover realizes this before it's too late.