If the wealthiest Americans pay a lower percent of taxes than the middle class, can someone explain why we shouldn't raise their taxes?

Just found out a poll last month found most Americans agree with me, the super wealthy should not pay less than the middle class in taxes.

There is no reason why we shouldn't raise their taxes , They have been given a bailout by the Government, lower taxes , but really ,, think about it ,, did they creat jobs or just bank/stash it away.This trickle down thing isnt working, the rich get richer now don't they ?

EStacey, I love how your example how Bill Gates being taxed at a higher rate is unfair since Bill Gates himself is in favor of raising the taxes on the rich.

I think most people in this thread are forgetting a really, really important point that I started with: the super rich are not taxed more than us, they pay a LOWER percentage (capital gains) than the middle class. That should bother you all.

If you had ten dollars in the bank and someone had a million.. reaching in at 2% to take out 'fair' taxes would net a much larger pile of money from the rich.. Same rate.. 'FAIR' taxes.. What is being suggested here is that we should "Reach into a poor man's pile for 2% and a Rich man's pile for 20%" Why? Simply because he could better 'absorb' taxes. I don't like ANY idea that unfairly taxes ANYONE for ANY reason! - but a program like this gains ground because there are 'less well to do' folks thinking they are somehow being cheated or treated unfairly by the rich.. Obama was right, he 'fundamentally changed' America.. he's got "American's" divided against each other on so many issues.. Bill Gates hires a million people, gives them work.. and we reward his generosity by DEMANDING a higher tax?!! something is wrong, wrong, wrong there.. No wonder there are no jobs to be had in the private sector..

The wealthiest currently enjoy the lowest tax burden since before Eisenhower. And do you know why? Because, we're told by the Tea Party GOP, that they're the "job creators," and taxing them would slow all this awesome job creation. Why, I have so many job offers thanks to my wealthy benefactor-job creators, that I don't know which one to choose. That's also why they're incentivized to ship more American jobs overseas. Because we have just too many jobs here! So leave those hard-working one-percenters alone! We saw how poor they became and how few jobs there were during Clinton's tenure, all because they paid another 3 percent.

SteveNC "2.) Income inequality..."

This is the most socialist mantra conceivable. In this REPUBLIC, as long as we are a free market society, there will always be producers and consumers; those who are driven and those who want a free ride. Your situation is worse than Kool-Aide drinking. PS: I am not on the "hook" to you or anyone else.

Camp, I'm not going to let you off the hook.

I'm not drinking any Kool-Aid, just giving facts. If I'm wrong with these following facts, let me know. Again, no opinion, just facts.

1.) Warren Buffett, the third richest human alive, pays 17.4% taxes. This is normal for the super rich. 2.) Income inequality has increased (by any measurement) in the US over the last 30 years. 3.) You're fine with both these facts.

SteveNC: One suggestion, stop drinking the Kool-Aide! Your comments are straight from the liberal left playbook.

Camp, you're missing the point. The wealthiest in America earn a large amount of their income off capital gains, which is taxed at 15%. As I said before, they pay a lower percent of their overall income than you or I, assuming you're middle class and pay taxes. I'm not cool with someone making $100 million a year paying less of a percent in taxes than me. Why are you?

Also, lets not forget that most of the "lazy" bottom 47% actually do pay taxes; payroll, not income. Those nonpayers also increased under Bush's tax breaks.

Factb4Truth, you are apparently math challenged. The top 1% wealthiest are, of course, also included in the top 10%. Facts are facts, you can research them quite easily.

Please. Camp, can you explain to me how the richest 1% only earns 19% of the income in the country if the bottom 50% earns 13%??? Who owns the 67% of wealth in-between??? The middle class??? Right. Your math is as flawed as your political beliefs. Fact of the matter is, the republicans fueled by morons who aren't rich, but buy the rhetoric anyway, vote for those GOP politicians who serve the 1% and grow the wealth-divide as their primary mandate. Problem is, the simpletons who vote them into office keep voting for the Republicans as long as they don't tread on guns, bibles and babies.

Don't believe the liberal rhetoric. The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 per­cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent of income earners pay 68 percent of the taxes. The bottom 50 percent earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes.