Why America’s Pissed: Cornel West, Robert Reich and More - The Daily Beast

Why America’s Pissed: Cornel West, Robert Reich and More - The Daily Beast: "The superrich are getting a larger and larger portion of national income and wealth yet paying a smaller and smaller portion of government revenues. Federal, state, and local budgets would be in much better shape if the superrich would pay their fair share. We’re seeing 30, 40, 50 or more kids crowded into classrooms. At the same time, billionaire hedge-fund managers are paying only 17 percent taxes. This makes no sense. In the current budget debate, we’ve got to increase taxes on the superrich.
Not just income taxes but capital gains taxes, too. Hedge-fund managers and private-equity managers exploit a loophole in the law that allows them to treat their income as capital gains, now subject to a 15 percent tax. That’s ludicrous—it’s a lower tax than bus drivers and secretaries pay. We’re the richest nation in the world—richer than we’ve ever been—and to think that we can’t afford to fix our roads, teach our kids, and provide early-childhood education is a scandal. "