Bilious Billionaires

Billionaires and possible Presidential candidates Howard Schultz and Mike Bloomberg hit back hard Tuesday at Democratic candidates for President Kamala Harris for her advocacy for Medicare for all and Warren's proposal of a wealth tax of 2% on those worth more than 50 million dollars.

Schultz says it's not American to eliminate an entire industry, that would be health insurance companies, he wondered what would be next? Bloomberg said you couldn't do Universal Healthcare because it would cost trillions of dollars and would bankrupt us. He also said Warren's tax proposal wouldn't fly because the Constitution only allows income tax. You are incorrect Mr. Bloomberg, the 16th Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1913 and states in full, "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The U.S. Tax Code exists by statute as it has evolved, that's why it is so large and complicated, it serves the rich. A wealth tax already exists and has long standing. If you own a house or land, you pay taxes on it based on it's value. Those are State taxes but wealth taxes which have stood the test of time. There have also been Federal taxes levied on luxury items in the past and they were accomplished through statute and withstood the tests of judiciary review. Those taxes were never mandated in the U.S. Constitution. Fortunately for the rich Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush purged the last of those luxury taxes from the books. What Schultz and Bloomberg really oppose is going after the medical industrial complex which bankrupts individual Americans everyday. Their profits are obscene and their callous disregard of the individual is nothing short of haneous. The United States has the highest cost and worse outcomes of any first world industrialized nation, as well as some emerging countries.

Here's some other things we couldn't do Mr. Bloomberg. We cannot break away from the most powerful Empire in the world, they have the ability to crush us economically and militarily. We did it anyway. We cannot end slavery, it will bankrupt the South and cause a Civil War. We did it anyway. We cannot break up the monopolies and stand up to the Robber Barons, it will shake the status quo. We did it anyway. We cannot grant women the vote, men will never tolerate it. We did it anyway. We cannot establish Social Security there are too many poor old people, it will bankrupt us. We did it anyway. We cannot stand up to Hitler, he's too powerful. We did it anyway. We cannot implement the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, it's too expensive. It cost 135 billion dollars in today's valuation or 800 billion dollars as a proportion of our G.D.P. We did it anyway. We cannot integrate the races in the military, it's too disruptive. We did it anyway. We cannot put a man on the moon, it's too expensive and silly. We did it anyway. We can't say enough is enough and stand with our African-American brothers and sisters and pass Civil Rights legislation, it will be too hard and disrupt the status quo. We did it anyway. We can't pass Medicare, it's too expensive, it's a commie takeover of medicine and poor old people don't really need it, it's a bad investment. We did it anyway. We can't pass the Americans With Disabilities Act, it's too costly to business and we've come this far without it, no one's really entitled to the same access as everyone else. We did it anyway. We don't need the Affordable Care Act, we can trust private insurance companies, we don't need to eliminate pre-existing conditions. We did it anyway.

Listen up Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Schultz, time for some schooling about what "we" can afford. Donald Trump gave you and your fellow travelers a 1.5 trillion dollar tax cut and it brought not even a blip to the overall economy. Since 9/11 we have spent 5.6 trillion dollars fighting needless wars, that's the official Department of Defense number which means it's probably higher. Do not lecture the citizens of this country on what we can't do. We have the capability to do anything we commit to do when we stand together and work for the common good of one another and the world as a whole.

You are wrong gentlemen. You are out of touch, behind the times and have spent far too long moving the chess pieces from your gilded towers.

You may be men who give generously to charity and I commend you for that but no matter your humble beginnings it has faded from your mind and you have no idea what the average American is facing today. You have achieved great success but you are members of a small exclusive club that has never evolved from the mentality of ancient entitled nobility.

You have every right to express your views and I mine. But ask yourself, is it really a fair fight?