I have posted the film clip of J’attendraiseveral times in the past several years but tonight I want to put up a piece from his later years. So here he is, live in Madrid in 1994 (he was a mere 86 years old) elegantly swinging out the Fats Waller tune, Honeysuckle Rose.
President Obama did a fine job in his SOTU speech last night framing a plan of action to keep the country moving forward. Whether anything comes of it or not depends entirely on the Republicans in Congress. If the obstructionists continue to block all or most of the president’s agenda, I sincerely believe they will pay for it at the polls in November.
Surely the voters can see which party is trying to create a shared prosperity for all Americans and which party is obstructing this vision. I was hoping for a more specific proposal from the President on what to do about the corrosive and corrupting influence of money in politics. Public financing of elections has to be our number one priority in the coming years. It is even more important than changing the tax code, even though that is a critical need as well if we are going to address deficits and protect our future obligations to Seniors, veterans and the poor and disabled among us.
Obama did, in fact, make a strong case for reforming the tax code, too, but he didn’t go far enough; not by a long shot. The “Warren Buffet Rule” is a good start, but I think there is one single thing that could immediately set everything straight. That is to do away with the Capital Gains Tax. Yes, you heard me. I am in agreement with those Republicans who want to do away with it. But what I have in mind is not what they have in mind at all.
I favor doing away with the category of Capital Gains altogether as a separate category of income. Income should be considered as income, no matter how it originated. If you have income, of any kind, you have to pay the freight, just like the rest of us (Ahem! Do you hear me, Mittens, “Mr. 13.9%?”) Whatever your ordinary income bracket is, you should pay that rate on all of your income.
Mitt Romney’s tax returns illustrate the case perfectly. Why should this multi-multi-millionaire pay half as much as regular working folks on his income? Republicans will claim that investment will dry up and blow away if you do away with the capital gains tax. I disagree strongly.
Here’s the thing: If you’re a fat cat business guy, accustomed to making a few million dollars a year to support your family and live the good life. If the tax code is amended and you have to (at long last) pay your fair share of taxes and this reduces your net income, you are going to do everything in your power to make up for having less dough to spend on your yachts, airplanes and silk suits. That would mean that you are likely to try to create more income by expanding your business operations. If, on the other hand, you don’t mind living on a few dollars less, then it probably won’t affect the way you do business. But you’re certainly not going to cut back on your business activity!
