A Crimp in Corruption?

Trey Smith

Introducing a new wrinkle into the already fraught fiscal cliff showdown, a consortium of billionaires today warned that if their taxes are raised they will no longer have enough money to buy politicians.

The group, led by casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, commissioned a new study showing that the cost of an average politician has soared exponentially over the past decade.

While the American family has seen increases in the cost of food, health care and education, Mr. Adelson says, “those costs don’t compare with the cost of buying a politician, which has gone through the roof.”

The casino billionaire points to his group’s study, which puts the cost of purchasing an average House member at two million dollars and an average senator at several times that.

~ from Billionaires Warn Higher Taxes Could Prevent Them From Buying Politicians by Andy Borowitz ~

Before any of you start searching the web for the study mentioned above, there is no need to -- this is a piece of satire. No such study exists. But for satire to be funny, it must contain at least a grain of truth. In this case, it represents several grains of truth that are hidden below the surface.

If the mega wealthy paid their fair share of taxes, this "loss" of income might mean that there was less money to spend subverting democracy! When an individual or group is used to subverting democracy, the last thing you want is to have this ability reduced in any way, shape or form.

On a personal level, I certainly can understand why anyone would want to keep as much of their money as possible. Whether a person has $20,000 or $20 million, who wants a higher tax bill?

But there is a huge difference between $20,000 and $20 million. In this day and age, it's hard to cover one's bills with the former. You live month-to-month and are always one tiny calamity away from financial disaster. A lot of the things that the rich take for granted -- quality health care, a roof over your head that doesn't leak or a car that doesn't continually break down -- are out of your reach.

I have never been "rich," but there was a time long ago when Della and I were situated solidly in the middle class. In 1985, we brought home a gross aggregate of around $32,000. (Go here to see how $32,000 in 1985 has the buying power of $68,580.28 today. You will need to put $32,000.00 in the first box and then select the year 1985.) We didn't lead a lavish lifestyle, but we were comfortable.

We donated a lot of our money to various charities. We paid our taxes on time. When the car needed fixing or one of us had a medical bill, we paid in cash. In a two year period, we socked over $8,000 into a savings account.

My point here is that a person or family can live comfortably without raking in millions or billions of dollars. At some point -- a point FAR below what today's mega wealthy would consider palatable -- the money becomes superfluous. It just piles up on top of itself.

I mean, really, how many cars, yachts, airplanes or homes does a person or family truly NEED? Jewelry and fine clothing are nice, but you can only wear a small amount of it at any given time. If everyone else is safe and secure, that would be one thing, but if you hoard money while others in the world go to sleep hungry or die of poverty, what in the hell does that say about you?