Let's Tax The Rich at 70% - Like We Did in 1950

Back in 1950 and the entire decade, rich people were taxed at 70%.  That seems excessive, even to me - a determined liberal standing so far out in left field, Communists can barely see me.

Or at least it did.

When Richard Nixon came into office (that epitome of crooked politicians), the tax breaks started for the uber-rich.  Those tax breaks have not lost momentum; so, a modest proposal of my own would be to make up for all the monies the uber-rich have not paid in taxes by taxing them from now and forever going forward at 70%.

Here's why.

I read the New York Times every Sunday, and I love it because it seems to have the most honest reporting of any newspaper in America.

But I also love the style section because I get to peek into that world of the uber-rich to actually see how they spend their excessive amounts of cash.

There is a considerable amount of wealth concentrated in a very small number of people, yet these people are calling your shots -- by "your" I mean anyone who doesn't have a trust fund.  These rich folks are the wrong people to call financial shots for anyone because they squander all that excess cash in unbelievably stupid ways.

Now we all get a good laugh out of $40,000 Birken bags and the people who carry them.  Even $4500 Balenciaga bags are ridiculous when one's intellect overrides one's ego.  But let's talk about real stupidity.

Like the treehouse for a twelve year old girl with running water and electricity. 

Like the couple who downsized their Central Park 4500 square foot apartment and went downtown, moving into a place with half the space.  Their biggest lament?  What to do with all their "stuff".  Especially the Italian vases they had shipped home and which numbered in the hundreds.  Come on.  Give me a f*cking break.  I like nice stuff as much as the next person, even have a (very) few really nice things, but I have never worried about where to display my hundreds of Italian vases. 

Or the wallpaper that costs $5,000 a roll.  Or the bathtub at $25,000.  Are we a pretentious society?  Of course we are.  That anyone would consider buying a $25,000 bathtub when there are people right down the block who don't have food or warm jackets is beyond me. 

We need to tax the rich at 70% to help the people who would be happy just to have a roof over their heads.

We need to tax the rich at 70% to prevent them from making serious mistakes with their money, like hideous fashion choices and being taken advantage of by designers and decoraters with questionable taste.

We need to tax the rich at 70% so that their 50 year old matrons don't walk around in $900 designer jeans stretched to death over their fat behinds while their plasticine faces scare children.

We need to tax the rich at 70% to teach them that they are not alone.  This seems like the most humane way to do it.