Responsibility of the Wealthy to Pay Higher Taxes
Original publication: FoxBusiness.com
Date of publication: October 8, 2010
Stossel: If America is headed for bankruptcy, what can we do about it? Progressives say they have the answer: tax the rich – people like...me. And, joining us now from Boston is Mike Lapham, Director of...Responsible Wealth, an advocacy group that says, 'tax the rich more.' And, Mike, you include yourself?
Lapham: Indeed, indeed.
Stossel: You're rich?
Lapham: Well, my great, great grandfather founded a paper mill in upstate New York in about 1865, and, yeah, I'm doing alright.
Stossel: What do you mean by 'Responsible Wealth'? What's 'responsible'?
Lapham: Our members are people who are in the top 5% in terms of their wealth or income in the US. And, they are people who get that they don't need another tax break, that we should have an estate tax, that we need more corp. accountability, things like that.
Stossel: Alright, you don't think, though, that there is a risk that that will kill jobs? I think higher taxes make people work less. [...]
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Stossel: That's the risk...that more people will 'ride horses' instead of start businesses and create jobs.
Lapham: Well, that's the myth, anyway. That certainly sounds good, but the reality is – this has been proven over and over; United for a Fair Economy did a report on this a few years back – there is no real link between tax cuts and job growth. [...]
Watch the full interview on FoxBusiness.com
