"Stop coddling the super rich"

Buffett/NY Times

"While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places."

This essay has apparentlly really pissed off the dirt-bag libertarians teabuggers, especially those who consider taxation to be the work of The DEVVILL. Of course, the usual TPster doesn't let US economic history stand in the way of his/her hustle and hype: Nixon-era tax rates were significantly greater than current rates--approx. 70% across the board, compared to today's 40%.