Should the 'Buffett Rule' Become Law? >
'Buffett Rule' Strengthens America's Backbone
The "Buffett rule" levels the playing the field for America's middle class
April 16, 2012
As we say in the Midwest, you do not fertilize a tree from the top down, you fertilize the roots. The "Buffet rule" reflects that kind of midwestern wisdom and decency.
[See pictures of Americans searching for work.]
It defies common sense that many middle-class Iowans should pay a higher tax rate than the 400 richest Americans, making over $110 million per year and paying only 18 percent in income taxes. Not only does this fly in the face of the common sense standards of a democratic society, but it also undermines the middle class, the backbone of the American economy, by helping to concentrate wealth among a very few rich Americans, and by denying our country the resources to make the investments that have sustained the middle class—everything from education to infrastructure—that has made America the strongest economy in the world.
The Buffet rule tackles this problem head on and levels the playing the field for America's middle class. It is part of legislation I recently introduced—the Rebuild America Act—and it should become law.
- Join the debate on Facebook.
- Follow U.S. News Debate Club on Twitter.
- Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.



